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TODO: API Integration Documentation

Priority: Critical Status: Complete ✅ Estimated Effort: 6-8 hours

Problem

The application integrates with external APIs to fetch Grateful Dead concert data, but there is no documentation explaining: - Which APIs are used - How they're integrated - Rate limiting and error handling - Data models and transformations - Authentication requirements (if any)

This makes it difficult for developers to: - Understand data flow - Debug API-related issues - Add new API endpoints - Modify existing integrations - Handle API changes or deprecations

What Needs Documentation

1. API Overview

Document which external APIs the application uses: - Internet Archive API (confirmed from app description) - Any other third-party APIs - Backend services (if any) - CDN or streaming services

For each API, document: - Base URL - Authentication method - API version being used - Official documentation links

2. Internet Archive API Integration

Based on the codebase structure (androidApp/v2/core/network/archive/), document:

Endpoints Used

  • Search endpoints
  • Metadata endpoints
  • Audio file streaming endpoints
  • Collection browsing endpoints

Example structure: 

GET https://archive.org/advancedsearch.php
  Parameters:
    - q: Search query
    - fl[]: Fields to return
    - rows: Results per page
    - output: Response format (json)

Request/Response Models

Document the data models in: - androidApp/v2/core/network/archive/model/ArchiveMetadataResponse.kt - androidApp/v2/core/network/archive/mapper/ArchiveMapper.kt

Show examples of: - Raw API responses (JSON) - Mapped internal models - Serialization strategies (see FlexibleStringSerializer.kt)

3. API Service Architecture

Document the network layer architecture:

Service Interface

Show how ArchiveApiService.kt is structured: - Retrofit/Ktor usage - Endpoint definitions - Suspend functions for coroutines - Error handling

Dependency Injection

Document ArchiveModule.kt: - How the API service is provided via Hilt - Base URL configuration - HTTP client setup - Interceptors (logging, auth, etc.)

Data Mapping

Explain the mapper pattern: - Why responses are mapped to internal models - How ArchiveMapper.kt transforms data - Domain model separation

4. Error Handling Strategy

Document how the app handles: - Network errors (no connection) - API errors (4xx, 5xx responses) - Rate limiting (429 responses) - Timeout errors - Malformed responses - SSL/Certificate errors

Show code examples of: - Result/Either patterns used - Retry strategies - User-facing error messages - Logging and debugging

5. Rate Limiting and Caching

Document policies for: - Request rate limits (if any) - Caching strategy - Where responses are cached - Cache invalidation - Cache duration - Request throttling/debouncing - Offline capabilities

6. Data Normalization

The app claims "normalized data for seamless searching" (from docs/docs/index.md). Document: - What data normalization means in this context - Where normalization happens - What transformations are applied - Why it's necessary

7. Testing API Integration

Document how to: - Mock API responses for testing - Test API service independently - Handle flaky network tests - Use test fixtures - Test error scenarios

8. Common API Tasks

Provide recipes for: - Adding a new endpoint - Modifying request parameters - Updating response models - Debugging failed requests - Monitoring API usage

Structure

Create: docs/docs/developer/api-integration.md

Suggested outline: 

# API Integration

## Overview
[List of APIs used]

## Internet Archive API

### Authentication
### Endpoints
### Request/Response Models
### Example Requests

## Network Layer Architecture

### Service Layer
### Dependency Injection
### Data Mapping

## Error Handling

### Network Errors
### API Errors
### Retry Strategy

## Performance

### Caching
### Rate Limiting
### Optimization

## Testing

### Mocking
### Test Fixtures
### Integration Tests

## Common Tasks

### Adding an Endpoint
### Updating Models
### Debugging

## References

Research Required

To write this documentation, investigate:

  1. ArchiveApiService.kt: What endpoints are defined?
  2. ArchiveMetadataResponse.kt: What's the response structure?
  3. ArchiveMapper.kt: What transformations occur?
  4. ArchiveModule.kt: How is the service configured?
  5. Network module: What HTTP client is used? (Retrofit? Ktor? OkHttp?)
  6. Error handling: Search for Result, Either, or sealed class patterns
  7. Repository layer: How does data flow from API to UI?

Code References to Document

Key files to examine and reference: - androidApp/v2/core/network/archive/api/ArchiveApiService.kt - androidApp/v2/core/network/archive/model/ArchiveMetadataResponse.kt - androidApp/v2/core/network/archive/mapper/ArchiveMapper.kt - androidApp/v2/core/network/archive/model/serializer/FlexibleStringSerializer.kt - androidApp/v2/core/network/archive/di/ArchiveModule.kt

Any corresponding iOS files in: - iosApp/deadly/ (network layer)

Checklist

  • Research and document Internet Archive API endpoints
  • Document request/response models with examples
  • Explain the service architecture and DI setup
  • Document error handling patterns
  • Explain caching and rate limiting strategies
  • Document data normalization process
  • Create testing guide for API integration
  • Add code examples for common tasks
  • Include diagrams showing data flow
  • Link to official API documentation
  • Note platform differences (Android/iOS)
  • Add troubleshooting section

Documentation: docs/docs/developer/api-integration.md ✅

Success Criteria

A new developer should be able to: - Understand what APIs the app uses - Find the code for any API endpoint - Add a new endpoint without help - Debug API-related issues - Understand error handling flow - Mock API responses for testing - Know where to look when API responses change

Notes

This is critical because the entire app depends on external APIs. Without this documentation, developers are working blind when investigating API issues or adding new features that require data.