music (search index: MP3Downloads), downloadable video (search index: UnboxVideo), and digital books
(search index: KindleStore). A related item could be, for example, all of the shows in a TV series that are
available separately, or, for example, all of the songs on a CD.
The basis upon which the item(s) are related is specified by the
RelationshipType
parameter. The
RelatedItems
response group requires that you include in the
ItemLookup
request the
RelationshipType
parameter. Sample values include Episode, Season, Tracks, and Variation. For a
complete list of values, see
ItemLookup. (p. 189)
Each
ItemLookup
request can return, at most, ten related items. To return additional items, use the
RelateditemsPage
parameter. A value of 2, for example, returns the second set of ten related items.For
more information, go to the
ItemLookup
. page.
Requests
Topics
•
Anatomy of a REST Request (p. 46)
•
Request Limitations (p. 49)
•
REST Syntax (p. 49)
•
SOAP Requests (p. 51)
•
Request Authentication (p. 53)
•
Batch Requests (p. 72)
•
Parameters Common to All Product Advertising API Requests (p. 75)
•
Responses (p. 77)
•
Paging and Sorting Through Responses (p. 81)
The Product Advertising API web service supports REST requests for remotely calling Product Advertising
API operations hosted by Amazon servers. REST requests are simple HTTP requests, using either the
GET method with parameters in the URL, or the POST method with parameters in the POST body. The
response is an XML document that conforms to a schema.
You might use REST requests because they are more intuitive than their SOAP counterpart or because
a SOAP toolkit is not available for your platform. The example requests used throughout this guide are
in REST.
Anatomy of a REST Request
Product Advertising API REST requests are URLs, as shown in the following example.
http://webservices.amazon.com/onca/xml?Service=AWSECommerceService&Operation=Item
Search&
AWSAccessKeyId=
[Access Key D]
&AssociateTag=
[ID]
&SearchIndex=Apparel&
Keywords=Shirt&Timestamp=[YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ]&Signature=[Request Signature]
If you substituted real IDs in this request and put the entire example in a browser, you would be sending
Product Advertising API a request.
Although the preceding example is in the form you would enter in a browser, it is difficult to read. For this
reason, this guide presents the same request as follows.
API Version 2011-08-01
46
Product Advertising API Developer Guide
Requests