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Russell Blau wrote:
Why is an edit API needed for reading a list of page names? Oh wait, it isn't! :)
That, of course, is not the point at all. The point is, why invest large amounts of time and effort in developing a bot framework to use an API that isn't yet complete?
The API will never be complete -- it will always be under development.
MediaWiki will never be complete -- it will always be under development.
Wikipedia will never be complete -- it will always be under development.
Yet, I don't think we're going to back off and not use any of them until they're done?
Screen-scraping constantly-changing UI is like repeatedly banging yourself in the head with a bowling ball. It's painful and doesn't accomplish much, but it feels SO GOOD when you stop!
It's not as though nobody uses the API -- it's used by lots of bot frameworks and custom JS gadgets on the site, and has been FOR YEARS. It's time for pywikipediabot to wake up and stop hitting itself in the head...
- -- brion