Manual for Icecat CSV Interface

This document describes the manual for Icecat CSV interface (Comma-Separated Values) variant of Icecat’s Open Catalog. A set of standards, data structures, files, and functionalities for the exchange of product data.

Icecat provides customers with the ability to download CSV product data by:

1. using a real-time call based (URL) interface to access product data-sheets
2. generating personalized or customized CSV files based on your catalog
3. through direct access to our Icecat Data indexes and repositories

In this post, we describe only (1) the real-time calls to CSV data-sheets. Generating personalized files is discussed separately. In the case of 3, check out the documentation for the Icecat XML Data Interface, as the same directories also contain CSV variants of index files, which can be used to retrieve product data-sheets in CSV format.

Other available interfaces are:

• Icecat LIVE (JavaScript) Interface
• Quick Guide for real-time data (XML, CSV)
• JSON Pull-API
• For brand owners wanting to push data to Icecat: Push-API

In general, we advise using the XML (or JSON) interfaces for downloading Icecat data-sheets. Interfaces based on these data formats are most robust, provide you with the most flexibility, and provide you with the most complete data set per product. However, sometimes the use of a CSV format is easier and more pragmatic, depending on the capabilities of the e-business infrastructure of your company.

Please, note that some brands have a restrictive syndication policy, in which they allow access to certain digital assets or other product data only to authorized resellers. In general, it is therefore good to request authorization from brands with which you have established formal relations via the Icecat website.

In case you need more information or have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Advantages of upgrading to Full Icecat

The CSV interface may be accessed by all Icecat Data (XML) users using at least an Open Icecat account. Open Icecat users can access the data of the sponsoring brands. Full Icecat users can access the data of all brands in the Icecat database, and get a free Vendor Central (PIM) service included.

However attractive the free Open Icecat database is, the Full-Icecat database still contains more than 10,000s brands. If you want specific brands to be included in free Open Icecat, please, recommend Icecat to your manufacturer contacts.

Read more about the main advantages of Full Icecat over free Open Icecat. In case you need higher catalog coverage, you will need Full Icecat. For more information, see the Icecat Subscription Plans.

If you want to upgrade to Full Icecat, please contact us via the contact form, or click on the “request Full Icecat access” link after the User Login.

International Standards Supported

Apart from JSON, Icecat is compliant with an increasing number of international standards. See, the quick overview of such supported standards.

Open Icecat Fair Use Policy

The user of Open Icecat product data (in a free Open Icecat subscription or as part of the Full Icecat data) is required to respect the Open Icecat Fair Use Policy.

Explicitly relevant for website development is:

• First, mention explicitly the “Specs Icecat” on all product datasheets, with a link to the Icecat.biz web site
• Secondly, include explicitly an “AS IS” disclaimer, an example is available in several languages.

1. Real-time CSV interface

The Icecat CSV product data-sheet consists of following columns:

Columns with product specifications are included and have column headers such as “Spec #” so that each new specification (feature) is included in a new column in the output CSV file. The number of specifications depends on the number of spec values in the respective product data-sheet. A cell with a specification value consists of a spec name, spec value, and a measuring unit, if present. Those columns also contain spec group names. Spec groups consist of multiple specs, which are grouped under its respective spec group, to make reading a spec table easier for a buyer.

If an user wants to get CSV file in the format when the feature names are in the header, he/she should use the a specific key: “wide_features_format=1” at the end of the URL that calls CSV file.

An example

Column header – Spec 1
Value – Processor

Column header – Spec 2
Value – Processor clock speed: 3.2 GHz

Column header – Spec N (where N is any spec number)
Value – Display

Column header – Spec N+1
Value – Display diagonal: 17”
Where:
Processor, Display – spec groups
Processor clock speed, Display diagonal – feature names
3.2, 17 – feature values
GHz, “ – units

Example string from CSV, where the spec groups “Design” , “Processor” and “Memory” are marked red:

"Design","Product type: Notebook","Colour of product: Black, Silver","Form factor: Clamshell","Processor","Processor clock speed: 1.3 GHz","Processor family: AMD E","Processor model: E2-3800","Processor cores: 4","Processor threads: 4","Processor cache: 2 MB","Memory","Internal memory: 8 GB","Internal memory type: DDR3-SDRAM","Maximum internal memory: 16 GB","Memory form factor: SO-DIMM",……..

See also Digital Asset Types as Represented in Icecat’s Open Catalog Interfaces.

2. URL call format

The Icecat real-time CSV interface, supports URL requests by:

• GTIN (EAN/UPC) code(s)
• GTIN (EAN/UPC) code(s) + category (id)
• Brand Product Code + Brand (vendor name)
• Brand Product Code + Brand (vendor name) + category (id)
• Icecat internal numerical product identifier(s) (icecat_id)
• Icecat internal numerical product identifier(s) + category (id)

Please, find a more detailed description of each parameter below:

• ean_upc – GTIN (EAN/UPC) code (one or several separated by comma)
• prod_id – manufacturer product code or comma separated list of product codes or alternative manufacturer product codes that are on the market and are mapped to an Icecat data-sheet (m_prod_id)
• brand – the manufacturer’s brand name (including alternative brand names present in the Icecat supplier mappings)
• icecat_id (product_id) – unique internal Icecat identifier of a product data-sheet, which can also be provided as a comma separated list
• lang – the language identifier (Icecat returns the EN data-sheet by default if no lang is selected in the URL request)
• cat – an optional, but advised parameter, where user may add the Icecat numerical identifier of a product category to reduce the probability of unexpected data-sheets
• output – the type of output (Enter “productcsv”Icecat returns product XML if no output type is provided)

Important: Red marked parameters are mandatory. A request only with ean_upc or icecat_id (product_id) without vendor and brand name is recognizable by the system and will return a datasheet.

Below you may find examples of URL calls:
https://data.icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?prod_id=;brand=Philips;lang=;output=productcsv
https://data.icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?ean_upc=8711500354532,8711500354501;lang=EN;output=productcsv
https://data.icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?prod_id=4347B007,8576B064;brand=canon;lang=IT;output=productcsv

In case user wants the feature names to have as titles of the columns: https://data.icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?prod_id=4347B007,8576B064;brand=canon;lang=IT;output=productcsv;wide_features_format=1

3. Access to rich content

Icecat provides access to special type of content – rich media – via XML, xml_s3 and real-time CSV interfaces. Rich media content can be requested by  the special output parameter: output=richproductcsv

Examples:
https://data.icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?product_id=17727188;lang=NL;output=richproductcsv
https://data.icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?ean_upc=8710103608011;lang=NL;output=richproductcsv

Note: for certain brands rich media can be restricted to their Authorized Resellers. Contact Icecat, if you think that you miss certain rich media assets that you expected to receive.

4. URL symbols encoding

Since some manufacturer product codes may consist of special symbols like +, #, !, %, _ or space Icecat may process these only if URL encoding of such symbols is included in the URL request.

Examples:
WBE3321A+NFSM = WBE3321A%2BNFSM
3580S4X BNDL = 3580S4X%20BNDL

5. IP Access Limits

Icecat sets up a limit on the number of simultaneous requests from each IP to ensure the stability of the service. Icecat users cannot send more than 25 simultaneous CSV URL requests. Full Icecat users can request CSV URL data only from IP addresses listed in their Icecat account profile. Requests from unregistered IPs are not processed. In such cases system returns an error message.

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