I.T. Spices The LINUX Way

Python In The Shell: The STEEMIT Ecosystem – Post #86

LET US DO SOME MIND PLANNING EXERCISES

  Please refer to the previous post for a more thorough understanding: https://steemit.com/blockchain/@lightingmacsteem/2n5k6e-i-t-spices-the-linux-way

  So we have the STEEMIT blockchain file in JSON format, what is next?

As there are many tools we can use to go about in parsing any JSON data, one of my main aim in this series is to lay down my approach overall, this way I can share valuable information, techniques and lessons learned.

I will lay down what we need along with some explanations as to why as part of our plan of action:

1. Database – any huge information if stacked on a database will be more manageable

2. Python scripting – we need a robust programming language that is versatile, fast and easy-to-understand

3. Linux cli – we also need the linux cli (Bash scripts) to provide us with versatile tools for routines that does not require much speed and complexity

4. Jq json processor – we need a parser of anything JSON to be able to manipulate any data between our database and the blockchain file

5. Docker containers – we need a separate instance of the database and python parsers “within” our own PC to be able to effectively simulate real-life scenarios

We can picture our actions this way:

From a file, we will find a good way to save the data into a database. When the data is now in the database, then we can query any part of any info that we like about the STEEMIT platform, the only thing we need is that the database should give us a JSON formatted text.

When we have a JSON data that is firstly queried, we can then process this further text-by-text and expect much faster results, like zooming into specific details.

With the above mindsets, and with programming tools that is both fast, versatile and easily constructed, I really believe we can extract anything from the blockchain in accordance to our preference.

Actually, this very mindset can be applied to any blockchain, we are just starting off with the STEEMIT data.

THIS IS HOW A BLOCK DATA LOOK LIKE

To have a feel of what things are worthy of queries on the blockchain, the snapshot below is one block record as queried from the database:

Try to check the titles (the texts with the double quotes on the left side) as opposed to its contents, I am sure that once you get familiarized with the terms used then our plan of action will also become more clear.

The command as given on the screenshot will be discussed in more details in the posts to come.

The fun is just starting guys, stay put and be alert for the next posts.

“When It Runs In My Head, Then It Already Is……. -Nikola Tesla”