Giveaway of the Day Feed Service

Giveaway Feed Service is a service created for websites and webmasters that are interested in ensuring stronger user retention with help of GAOTD.

GFS provides you with all the information on the GAOTD software in XML-formatted feed. So, once you've install it, your site will feature fully powered Giveaway Service. It means that your visitors will be able to see all the information about our giveaway titles (even download link to current giveaway) right on your site!

GFS also provides you with the JavaScript-based method (in case you are unable to use server-side scripts for the data import operations), which allows you to get the information on the current giveaway.

So, just make up your mind and try out our new Giveaway Feed Service!

Advantages of the GFS

  • XML, cross-platform format, allows webmasters to create and use their own import methods for GFS.
  • You have access to online information feed that updates with every change on GAOTD server.

What kind of information GFS system exports?

We provide full information for the current giveaways plus full information on a few previous ones, with total of ten latest giveaway information packages exported.

You will get the program name, short and full program description, technical data, publisher/vendor information, screenshots and graphics, and download links.

GFS feeds can be found here:

How to import GFS information and present it to your visitors?

XML format provides you with almost unlimited possibilities to interpret and present the information imported, yet we provide more than just XML feed. We have PHP scripts samples available for download, and we hope that those samples will help you to quickly deploy the GFS importing service on your website. You can modify those scripts to fit your own unique ideas and needs.

These sample scripts require PHP version 4 or higher, which is set to allow files opening from external URLs (allow_url_fopen option in php.ini file should be set to On).

Our sample scripts display the information on current giveaways, giveaway archive (10 last giveaways) and also include a simple caching method that will help you with load management for your web server.

This archive includes:

  • settings.php - basic settings
  • lib.php - functions library
  • index.php - main template, displays brief information for current and archived giveaways
  • single.php - this template displays full information for one selected giveaway

Installation of PHP samples

  1. Download the archive and unpack it into destination folder on your web server.
  2. Set up the service editing settings.php file:
    • GAOTD_IMPORT_URL parameter sets the URL for the feed file import. By default, this parameter is set to English version feed. You need to change it if you want to import the feed in one of the GAOTD`s supported languages.
    • GAOTD_REFRESH_PERIOD parameter defines the lifespan for the local cache, by default it is set to 30 seconds, setting it for over 60 seconds is not recommended.
    • GAOTD_XML_SRC parameter defines local cache file path for your server. Please make sure that the folder is writable by server.
    • GAOTD_SINGLE_PAGE_URL defines the URL for the single giveaway template for your server.

XML file format specification

Information on each giveaway is enclosed within the <item> tags:
  • id - unique system giveaway ID
  • name - unique symbolic giveaway code, can be used to display the information with mod_rewrite
  • unix_timestamp - giveaway start time, this is a timestamp in Unix format
  • gmt_date - giveaway start date in GMT format.
  • title - giveaway title
  • excerpt - brief description of the giveaway
  • content - full giveaway description, contains HTML tags.
  • screenshot - main screenshot URL
  • size - giveaway installation package size
  • sys_req - system requirements
  • url - giveaway page URL on the givewayoftheday.com website
  • download_link - main download link
  • download_mirror1 - download mirror link #1
  • download_mirror2 - download mirror link #2
  • lifespan - giveaway lifetime in days (typically set to 1)
  • price - giveaway software price (for non-giveaway days)
  • homepage - software homepage
  • publisher - software publisher name

JavaScript-based import method

If you cannot use server-side scripts for the data import operations, you can use our JavaScript object elements to get the information on the current giveaway.

Include following line into your page`s template - and you will be able to display an arbitrary set of parameters on the current giveaway:

<script src="http://export.giveawayoftheday.com/index.js"></script>

For example, this command

<script type="text/javascript">document.write(gaotdObj.title)</script>

will display the giveaway`s title for the current giveaway.

Just like the XML feed, JavaScript-formatted data is available in all GAOTD supported languages:

Terms of use

  • You must provide a visible link to GAOTD website and include our logo on every imported page.
  • Creating your own downloads facility with GAOTD downloadable files is strictly prohibited. All the download links should lead to GAOTD`s own downloads facility or approved GAOTD`s partners sites, such as Wikifortio.
  • You must submit your website`s URL to our GFS form if you wish to use Giveaway Feed Service.
The form is here:

Feedback

If you've encountered any errors/other problems using GFS or have any suggestions or thoughts on how to make this service better - we are ready to hear them out! You can leave a message in our Forum or leave us a notice via Contact Form.