Ecosyste.ms: Awesome

An open API service indexing awesome lists of open source software.

Awesome Lists | Featured Topics | Projects

https://github.com/antononcube/raku-www-wolframalpha

Raku package for accessing Wolfram|Alpha.
https://github.com/antononcube/raku-www-wolframalpha

rakulang web-api webapi wolfram wolfram-alpha

Last synced: about 1 month ago
JSON representation

Raku package for accessing Wolfram|Alpha.

Awesome Lists containing this project

README

        

# WWW::WolframAlpha

[![MacOS](https://github.com/antononcube/Raku-WWW-WolframAlpha/actions/workflows/macos.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/antononcube/Raku-WWW-WolframAlpha/actions/workflows/macos.yml)
[![Linux](https://github.com/antononcube/Raku-WWW-WolframAlpha/actions/workflows/linux.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/antononcube/Raku-WWW-WolframAlpha/actions/workflows/linux.yml)
[![Win64](https://github.com/antononcube/Raku-WWW-WolframAlpha/actions/workflows/windows.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/antononcube/Raku-WWW-WolframAlpha/actions/workflows/windows.yml)
[![https://raku.land/zef:antononcube/WWW::WolframAlpha](https://raku.land/zef:antononcube/WWW::WolframAlpha/badges/version)](https://raku.land/zef:antononcube/WWW::WolframAlpha)

## In brief

This Raku package provides access to the answer engine [Wolfram|Alpha](https://www.wolframalpha.com), [WA1, Wk1].
For more details of the Wolfram|Alpha's API usage see [the documentation](https://products.wolframalpha.com/api/documentation), [WA2].

**Remark:** To use the Wolfram|Alpha API one has to register and obtain an authorization key.

-----

## Installation

Package installations from both sources use [zef installer](https://github.com/ugexe/zef)
(which should be bundled with the "standard" Rakudo installation file.)

To install the package from [Zef ecosystem](https://raku.land/) use the shell command:

```
zef install WWW::WolframAlpha
```

To install the package from the GitHub repository use the shell command:

```
zef install https://github.com/antononcube/Raku-WWW-WolframAlpha.git
```

----

## Usage examples

**Remark:** When the authorization key, `auth-key`, is specified to be `Whatever`
then the functions `wolfam-alpha*` attempt to use the env variable `WOLFRAM_ALPHA_API_KEY`.

The package has an universal "front-end" function `wolfram-alpha` for the
[different endpoints provided by Wolfram|Alpha Web API](https://products.wolframalpha.com/api/documentation).

### (Plaintext) results

Here is a _result_ call:

```perl6
use WWW::WolframAlpha;
wolfram-alpha-result('How many calories in 4 servings of potato salad?');
```
```
# about 720 dietary Calories
```

### Simple (image) results

Here is a _simple_ call (produces an image):

```perl6, results=asis
wolfram-alpha-simple('What is popularity of the name Larry?', format => 'md-image');
```

![](./docs/PopularityOfTheNameLarry.png)

**Remark:** Pretty good conjectures of Larry Wall's birthday year or age can be made using the obtained graphs.

### Full queries

For the so called *full queries* Wolfram|Alpha returns complicated data of pods in either XML or JSON format;
see ["Explanation of Pods"](https://products.wolframalpha.com/api/documentation?scrollTo=explanation-of-pods).

Here we get the result of a full query and show its (complicated) data type (using ["Data::TypeSystem"](https://raku.land/zef:antononcube/Data::TypeSystem)):

```perl6
use Data::TypeSystem;

my $podRes = wolfram-alpha-query('convert 44 lbs to kilograms', output => 'json', format => 'hash');

deduce-type($podRes)
```
```
# Assoc(Atom((Str)), Assoc(Vector(Atom((Str)), 18), Tuple([Atom((Int)) => 4, Atom((Rat)) => 2, Atom((Str)) => 10, Struct([count, template, type, values, word], [Int, Str, Str, Array, Str]) => 1, Tuple([Struct([error, expressiontypes, id, numsubpods, position, scanner, subpods, title], [Bool, Hash, Str, Int, Int, Str, Array, Str]), Struct([error, expressiontypes, id, numsubpods, position, primary, scanner, subpods, title], [Bool, Hash, Str, Int, Int, Bool, Str, Array, Str]), Struct([error, expressiontypes, id, numsubpods, position, scanner, states, subpods, title], [Bool, Array, Str, Int, Int, Str, Array, Array, Str]), Struct([error, expressiontypes, id, numsubpods, position, scanner, subpods, title], [Bool, Hash, Str, Int, Int, Str, Array, Str]), Struct([error, expressiontypes, id, numsubpods, position, scanner, states, subpods, title], [Bool, Hash, Str, Int, Int, Str, Array, Array, Str]), Struct([error, expressiontypes, id, numsubpods, position, scanner, subpods, title], [Bool, Array, Str, Int, Int, Str, Array, Str])]) => 1], 18), 18), 1)
```

Here we convert the query result into Markdown (`data-translation` can be also used):

```perl6, results=asis
wolfram-alpha-pods-to-markdown($podRes, header-level => 4):plaintext;
```
#### Input interpretation

**scanner:** Identity

convert 44 lb (pounds) to kilograms

#### Result

**scanner:** Identity

19.96 kg (kilograms)

#### Additional conversions

**scanner:** Unit

3 stone 2 pounds

19958 grams

#### Comparison as mass

**scanner:** Unit

≈ 1.6 × mass of a Good Delivery gold bar ( 400 oz t )

#### Interpretations

**scanner:** Unit

mass

#### Corresponding quantities

**scanner:** Unit

Relativistic energy E from E = mc^2:
| 1.794×10^18 J (joules)
| 1.12×10^37 eV (electronvolts)

Weight w of a body from w = mg:
| 44 lbf (pounds-force)
| 1.4 slugf (slugs-force)
| 196 N (newtons)
| 1.957×10^7 dynes
| 19958 ponds

Volume V of water from V = m/ρ_(H_2O):
| 5.3 gallons
| 42 pints
| 20 L (liters)
| 19958 cm^3 (cubic centimeters)
| (assuming conventional water density ≈ 1000 kg/m^3)

-------

## Command Line Interface

### Playground access

The package provides a Command Line Interface (CLI) script:

```shell
wolfram-alpha --help
```
```
# Usage:
# wolfram-alpha [ ...] [--path=] [--output-format=] [-a|--auth-key=] [--timeout[=UInt]] [-f|--format=] [--method=] -- Command given as a sequence of words.
#
# --path= Path, one of 'result', 'simple', or 'query'. [default: 'result']
# --output-format= The format in which the response is returned. [default: 'Whatever']
# -a|--auth-key= Authorization key (to use WolframAlpha API.) [default: 'Whatever']
# --timeout[=UInt] Timeout. [default: 10]
# -f|--format= Format of the result; one of "json", "hash", "values", or "Whatever". [default: 'Whatever']
# --method= Method for the HTTP POST query; one of "tiny" or "curl". [default: 'tiny']
```

**Remark:** When the authorization key argument "auth-key" is specified set to "Whatever"
then `wolfram-alpha` attempts to use the env variable `WOLFRAM_ALPHA_API_KEY`.

--------

## Mermaid diagram

The following flowchart corresponds to the steps in the package function `wolfram-alpha-query`:

```mermaid
graph TD
UI[/Some natural language text/]
TO[/"Wolfram|Alpha
Processed output"/]
WR[[Web request]]
WolframAlpha{{http://api.wolframalpha.com}}
PJ[Parse JSON]
Q{Return
hash?}
MSTC[Compose query]
MURL[[Make URL]]
TTC[Process]
QAK{Auth key
supplied?}
EAK[["Try to find
WOLFRAM_ALPHA_API_KEY
in %*ENV"]]
QEAF{Auth key
found?}
NAK[/Cannot find auth key/]
UI --> QAK
QAK --> |yes|MSTC
QAK --> |no|EAK
EAK --> QEAF
MSTC --> TTC
QEAF --> |no|NAK
QEAF --> |yes|TTC
TTC -.-> MURL -.-> WR -.-> TTC
WR -.-> |URL|WolframAlpha
WolframAlpha -.-> |JSON|WR
TTC --> Q
Q --> |yes|PJ
Q --> |no|TO
PJ --> TO
```

--------

## References

[AAp1] Anton Antonov,
[Data::TypeSystem Raku package](https://github.com/antononcube/Raku-Data-TypeSystem),
(2023),
[GitHub/antononcube](https://github.com/antononcube).

[WA1] Wolfram Alpha LLC, [Wolfram|Alpha](https://www.wolframalpha.com).

[WA2] Wolfram Alpha LLC, [Web API documentation](https://products.wolframalpha.com/api/documentation).

[Wk1] Wikipedia entry, [WolframAlpha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WolframAlpha).