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Showing posts from February, 2017

Using the SHARE API to Grab the Latest CDISC Terminology Packages

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Keeping your repository up to date with the latest CDISC Controlled Terminology (CT) packages represents a challenge to many organizations. The SHARE API make it easier to retrieve the CT packages and initiate the process of updating your repository. In this post I'll walk through the process of finding and retrieving the CT from SHARE using the API. We'll use the default media type of XML. When requesting a full CT package the XML media-type uses the NCI EVS extended versionof ODM that includes the additional metadata needed to represent the CT content. The following figure provides an overview of the steps taken to retrieve the latest CT packages using the SHARE API. The first step is to determine what CT Packages are available for loading. This can be done by using the Get Standard Terminology List API. The SHARE API is RESTful so this entails requesting the /terminology-packages resource. The default Lifecycle-Status parameter retrieves Approved Final content.

Wanted: SHARE API Early Adopters

Having completed the SHARE API v1.0 pilot in 2016, CDISC recently announced the SHARE API Early Adopter Program  for those interested in beginning to use the API right away. SHARE API access provides a RESTful web services interface to SHARE for retrieving new CDISC standards and terminology. Having worked on the API pilot, I'm happy to see it released for general use. It's a significant step forward and marks CDISC's movement towards new ways of publishing machine-readable standards content.  As part of the Early Adopters Program new users will be asked to provide regular feedback and input into new features. The SHARE API is currently a v1.0 release meaning the essentials are there in terms of accessing metadata content, but we also have a lot more we'd like to do with it. The API Pilot team developed a list of user stories at the beginning of the project, and while most were implemented during the pilot, many were deferred and will become part of the roadmap for fu