Represent by Open North SDKs & Libraries: Python, Ruby, PHP (2026)

SDKs overview

Represent by Open North offers Software Development Kits (SDKs) and libraries to facilitate interaction with its API, which provides access to Canadian elected official and political boundary data. These SDKs abstract the underlying HTTP requests and JSON responses, allowing developers to integrate civic information into their applications using native language constructs. The primary goal of these tools is to simplify data retrieval and processing, making it easier to build applications that leverage Canadian political data for various purposes, including civic engagement, research, and journalism.

While the API itself can be accessed directly via standard HTTP requests, using an SDK can reduce development time by handling common tasks such as authentication (if applicable), request formatting, and response parsing. This approach aligns with common development practices, where SDKs are often preferred for streamlining API integrations, as documented by sources like Google's API client library concepts.

The SDKs are designed to work with the Represent API's endpoints, which include functionality to look up elected officials by postal code, retrieve details about specific officials, and access information about electoral districts and their boundaries. Developers can use these tools to query data efficiently and incorporate it into web applications, mobile apps, or backend services.

Official SDKs by language

Open North maintains official SDKs for several popular programming languages, ensuring direct compatibility and support for the Represent API. These SDKs are developed and maintained by the Open North team to provide a stable and reliable interface for developers. The official SDKs abstract the API's RESTful interface, allowing developers to interact with the service using idiomatic code within their chosen language environment. This simplifies tasks such as constructing API requests, handling various response formats, and managing potential errors. Each SDK is typically distributed through its respective language's package manager, facilitating easy installation and dependency management.

The following table outlines the officially supported SDKs, their package names, installation commands, and maturity status:

These official SDKs are the recommended method for integrating with the Represent API due to their direct support from Open North and their consistent updates in line with API changes. For detailed usage instructions and API method references, developers should consult the Represent API documentation.

Installation

Installing the Represent by Open North SDKs typically involves using the standard package manager for each respective programming language. This ensures that all necessary dependencies are resolved automatically and the library is correctly integrated into your project environment. Below are the installation instructions for the official SDKs:

Python

The Python SDK is distributed via PyPI (Python Package Index). To install it, use pip:

pip install represent-api

After installation, you can import the library into your Python project and begin making API calls. For example, you might start by importing the client and initializing it.

Ruby

The Ruby SDK is available as a gem. You can install it using the gem command:

gem install represent-api-ruby

Once installed, you can require the gem in your Ruby scripts or applications to access its functionalities. The RubyGems repository serves as a central hub for Ruby libraries, similar to how PyPI functions for Python packages.

PHP

The PHP SDK is managed through Composer, the dependency manager for PHP. To add it to your project, navigate to your project's root directory and run:

composer require opennorth/represent-api-php

This command will download the library and its dependencies, and update your composer.json and composer.lock files accordingly. You can then use Composer's autoloader to access the SDK classes within your PHP application.

For all SDKs, it is important to ensure your development environment meets the minimum version requirements specified in the respective SDK's documentation. Regularly updating your SDKs is also recommended to benefit from new features, bug fixes, and security patches.

Quickstart example

This quickstart example demonstrates how to use the Python SDK to retrieve a list of elected officials for a given Canadian postal code. This is a common use case for the Represent API, allowing applications to provide localized civic information.

Python Quickstart

First, ensure you have the Python SDK installed as described in the Installation section. Then, you can use the following Python code snippet:

import represent_api

# Initialize the client
client = represent_api.Client()

# Define the postal code to query
postal_code = "M5V 2T6" # Example: Toronto, ON

try:
    # Fetch officials by postal code
    officials_data = client.officials.get_by_postal_code(postal_code)

    print(f"Officials for postal code {postal_code}:")
    for official in officials_data.objects:
        print(f"- Name: {official.name}")
        print(f"  Party: {official.party_name}")
        print(f"  Jurisdiction: {official.jurisdiction.name}")
        print(f"  Position: {official.elected_office}")
        print(f"  URL: {official.url}")
        print("\n")

except represent_api.exceptions.RepresentAPIException as e:
    print(f"An API error occurred: {e}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}")

This example initializes the represent-api client, then calls the get_by_postal_code method to retrieve a list of officials. It then iterates through the returned objects to print relevant details such as name, party, jurisdiction, and position. Error handling is included to catch potential API-specific errors or other exceptions.

For more detailed examples and access to other API endpoints, refer to the official Represent API documentation.

Community libraries

In addition to the official SDKs, the Represent by Open North API may inspire community-contributed libraries and wrappers. These libraries are typically developed by individual developers or groups within the open-source community who find the official SDKs do not fully meet their specific needs or who wish to provide support for a language not officially covered. Community libraries can offer alternative approaches, integrate with specific frameworks, or provide additional utility functions.

While community libraries can be valuable for their flexibility and broader language support, it is important to note that they may not receive the same level of ongoing support or updates as official SDKs. Developers considering community-maintained options should evaluate their stability, maintenance status, and community activity before integrating them into production environments. Resources like GitHub and relevant language-specific package repositories are common places to discover such contributions. For example, many open-source projects rely on community contributions for wider adoption, as seen in the AWS SDK for PHP developer guide's mention of community libraries.

As of the last review, Open North primarily promotes its official SDKs. Any notable community libraries would typically be listed or linked within the broader developer community or on the official documentation if they achieve significant adoption and stability. Developers are encouraged to check community forums or GitHub for any such projects related to the Represent API.