Date format in JSON-CSL translator vs. in API

david_lindemann · May 11, 2021

Hi,

I am mirroring a Zotero Group to a wikibase instance; I have done this exporting data from my local Zotero using a modified version of the JSON-CSL exporter, which will export all fields, including attachments, "extra", etc. For updates (If something is added or changed either in Zotero or on the wikibase, it should be updated by a bot on the other side), I want to use the API instead.

I see only one drawback, which is the "date" field format. Example item.
From the API, I get this format in German locale (why is that, maybe because the local Zotero used for creating this item or the Firefox used for scraping the metadata (from a US repository) is in German locale?)

"date": "Januar 1, 2007"

... and the JSON-CSL translator had given me for the same item:

"issued": {
	"date-parts": [
		[
			"2007",
			1,
			1
		]
	]
}

Since I don't know if the same locale will always apply, the conversion of the date obtained via API might fail (relevant python strategies will accept only one locale at the time). Couldn't the API be updated to provide date in a (standard) numeric format?

adamsmith · May 11, 2021

Check at the top of that JSON record: you have meta.parsedDate in ISO format.

david_lindemann · May 11, 2021

Oh, wow! outside of "data", yes, there it is. Sorry, could have realized that... Thanks!