1.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Anatomy of a Tin Can
Statement
Brian J. Miller
Rustici Software

2.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Brian
● Long time web developer
● Maintainer of TinCanJS, TinCanJava, TinCan_Prototypes
● Primary developer, maintainer and now curator of The Registry
● Contributor to the specification
● Up and comer on the Rustici Software Pong Ladder

3.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
JSON

4.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Why JSON?
● JavaScript Object Notation
● Browser support thus library support
● Human Readable
● Minimalist (transfer size)
● Arbitrarily nestable
● “Executable”
● Popular

5.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
JSON Entities
● Strings are quoted
● Numbers, booleans (`true`, `false`), and `null` are primitives
○ Primitives are not quoted
● { } indicates an Object
○ Objects have a key/value pair structure
○ The key is known as a “property”
○ Keys must be strings (quoted)
○ : is the separator
○ , is the delimiter
○ Values are strings, primitives, arrays and objects
● [ ] indicates an Array
○ Contains a list of values: strings, literals, objects and arrays
○ , is the delimiter
● Whitespace is ignored

6.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Sample JSON
{
“simpleProperty”: “Some string value”,
“listProperty”: [
“first in list”,
“second in list”
],
“booleanProperty”: true,
“nullProperty”: null,
“nestedObject”: {
“somePropertyOfObject”: “I’m inside an object”
}
}

7.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Sample JSON
[
{
“sample2”: “Array at top level works too”
},
{
“sample3”: “List of objects this time”
}
]

8.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Identifiers
IRI, UUIDs

9.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
IRI vs URI vs URL
● Commonly recognizable by the non-technical
● Domain Specific Identifier
● Allows for “Ownership”
● Allows for Resolvability (and Updates)
● Multiple Object Uses
● The Registry
tag:adlnet.gov,2013:expapi:0.9:activities:6VoMrbxMPZD
http://rusticisoftware.github.com/TinCanJS

10.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Gooowhat?
● Two names for basically the same thing
● Specification uses UUID (version 4)
● Good library support
72c099dc-6388-4964-b7e5-3a2a4c34e452
f58f502c-e711-4e77-aed1-7d4ea8c07f44
27c8e14c-9055-4ef3-bdb9-eb5dc60987ee

11.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Language Map

12.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Language Map
● Object of language code to string mappings
● Provides Internationalization (I18N)
● RFC5646 for properties
● “und”
{
“en-US”: “...”,
“en-GB”: “...”,
“es-ES”: “...”,
“es-MX”: “...”,
“de-DE”: “...”
}

13.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Building Statements
{ }

14.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Properties vs. Object Types
id
actor
verb
object
context
result
timestamp
stored
authority
version
attachments
Agent
Group
Verb
Activity
Activity Definition
Context
Result
Score
Statement Reference
Sub-Statement
Language Map

15.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“actor”
Agent/Group

16.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“actor”
● Who the statement is about
● Required property of a statement
● Value is an Agent or Group

17.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Agent
● One Representation of a Person
● Ways to identify an Agent
○ Email Address (or mbox)
○ mbox SHA1
○ OpenID
○ Account
● Named
{
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”,
“name”: “Brian J. Miller”
}
{
“account”: {
“homePage”: “http://twitter.com”,
“name”: “k95bm01”
},
“name”: “Brian J. Miller (on Twitter)”
}

18.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Group
● Subtype of Agent
● ‘objectType’ property required
● Two kinds
○ Identified
○ Anonymous
● Has a “members” property
○ Value is an array
○ Members are Agents
{
“objectType”: “Group”,
“account”: {
“homePage”: “http://twitter.com”,
“name”: “rusticisoftware”
},
“name”: “Rustici Software (on Twitter)”,
“members”: [
{
“account”: {
“homePage”: “http://twitter.com”,
“name”: “k95bm01”
},
.
.
.
}
]
}

19.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Build a Statement
{
“actor”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”
}
}

20.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“verb”

21.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“verb”
● What occurred, the action
● Required property of a statement
● Value is a Verb
● Past tense

22.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Verb
● Required “id” property with URI value
● Optional but highly recommended “display” property with Language Map
value
{
“id”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/experienced”,
“display”: {
“en-US”: “experienced”
}
}

23.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Build a Statement
{
“actor”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”
},
“verb”: {
“id”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/experienced”,
“display”: {
“en-US”: “experienced”
}
}
}

24.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“object”
Activity, Agent/Group
Statement Reference, Sub-Statement

25.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“object” property
● Target of the action
● Required property of a statement
● Multiple possible types of value
○ Activity
○ Agent/Group
○ Statement Reference
○ Sub-Statement

26.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Activity
● “id” property is a URI
● “definition” takes an Activity Definition object
○ “type” is a URI
○ “name” and “description” are language maps
○ “moreInfo” is a URL
○ “extensions” object
○ Other properties for interactions
{
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement”,
“definition”: {
“type”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/activities/media”,
“name”: {
“en-US”: “Anatomy of a Tin Can Statement”
},
“description”: {
“en-US”: “Presentation about the parts of a Tin Can Statement.”
}
}
}

27.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Build a Statement
{
“actor”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”
},
“verb”: {
“id”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/experienced”,
“display”: {
“en-US”: “experienced”
}
},
“object”: {
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement”,
“definition”: {
“type”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/activities/media”,
“name”: {
“en-US”: “Anatomy of a Tin Can Statement”
},
“description”: {
“en-US”: “Presentation about the parts of a Tin Can Statement.”
}
}
}
}

28.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Build a Statement
{
“actor”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:mike.rustici@tincanapi.com”,
“name”: “Mike Rustici”
},
“verb”: {
“id”: “http://id.tincanapi.com/verb/hired”,
“display”: {
“en-US”: “hired”
}
},
“object”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”,
“name”: “Brian J. Miller”,
“objectType”: “Agent”
}
}

29.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“context”
Context Object

30.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“context” property
● Value is Context object
● All properties optional
○ contextActivities - Object with "parent', "category", "grouping", and "other"
○ registration - UUID
○ instructor - Agent/Group
○ team - Group
○ statement - Statement Reference
○ revision - String
○ platform - String
○ language - RFC5646 String, when known
○ extensions - Object

31.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Build a Statement
{
“actor”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”
},
“verb”: {
“id”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/experienced”,
“display”: {
“en-US”: “experienced”
}
},
“object”: {
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement/slide37”,
“definition”: {
“name”: {“en-US”: “Slide 37”}
}
},
“context”: {
“registration”: “111b5f5d-c54d-4b9c-8eb3-0b646f207496”,
“contextActivities”: {
“parent”: {
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement”
}
}
}
}

32.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“result”
Result Object

33.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“result” property
● Value is Result object
● All properties optional
○ "completion" - Boolean
○ "success" - Boolean
○ "duration" - ISO8601 Duration
○ "score" - Score, object of numerical properties
■ "scaled"
■ "raw"
■ "min"
■ "max"
○ "extensions" - Object

34.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Build a Statement
{
“actor”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”
},
“verb”: {
“id”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/completed”,
“display”: {“en-US”: “completed”}
},
“object”: {
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement/pop-quiz”,
“definition”: {
“name”: {“en-US”: “Pop Quiz”}
}
},
“context”: {
“contextActivities”: {
“parent”: {“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement”}
}
},
“result”: {
“completion”: true,
“success”: true,
“score”: {
“raw”: 97,
“scaled”: 0.97
},
“duration”: “PT15M32S”
}
}

35.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“id”

36.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“id” Property
● Identifies a specific statement
● Value is a UUID
● Optional when sending statement to an LRS
● Set by LRS if not included
● Used in Statement Reference objects
● Use to query single statements
● Provides primary key for systems
72c099dc-6388-4964-b7e5-3a2a4c34e452

37.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Build a Statement
{
“id”: “69552da6-14c0-4e8d-bac5-2c026488f295”,
“actor”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”
},
“verb”: {
“id”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/experienced”,
“display”: {
“en-US”: “experienced”
}
},
“object”: {
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement/slide37”,
“definition”: {
“name”: {“en-US”: “Slide 37”}
}
},
“context”: {
“registration”: “111b5f5d-c54d-4b9c-8eb3-0b646f207496”,
“contextActivities”: {
“parent”: {
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement”
}
}
}
}

38.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“timestamp”

39.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“timestamp” Property
● Date and time when statement is created
● Value is an ISO8601 formatted string
● Optional when sending statement to an LRS
● Set by LRS if not included
2013-09-11T14:52:46.907Z

40.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Build a Statement
{
“id”: “69552da6-14c0-4e8d-bac5-2c026488f295”,
“timestamp”: “2013-09-11T22:38:16.329Z”,
“actor”: {
“mbox”: “mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com”
},
“verb”: {
“id”: “http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/experienced”,
“display”: {
“en-US”: “experienced”
}
},
“object”: {
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement/slide37”,
“definition”: {
“name”: {“en-US”: “Slide 37”}
}
},
“context”: {
“registration”: “111b5f5d-c54d-4b9c-8eb3-0b646f207496”,
“contextActivities”: {
“parent”: {
“id”: “http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement”
}
}
}
}

41.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Properties Set by the
Learning Record Store
“stored”, “authority”, “version”

42.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
LRS Set Properties
“authority”
●Indicates who asserts the statement
●Value is an Agent or Group
●Group of two members when using OAuth
“stored”
●Date and time when statement is stored in the LRS
●Value is an ISO8601 formatted string
●Not used when sending statement to an LRS
●Set by LRS even if already exists
“version”
●1.0.0+ Single Stream

43.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Fetch a Statement
{
"id": "69552da6-14c0-4e8d-bac5-2c026488f295",
"actor": {
"mbox": "mailto:brian.miller@tincanapi.com",
"objectType": "Agent"
},
"verb": {
"id": "http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/experienced",
"display": {"en-US": "experienced"}
},
"context": {
"registration": "111b5f5d-c54d-4b9c-8eb3-0b646f207496",
"contextActivities": {
"parent": [
{
"id": "http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement",
"objectType": "Activity"
}
]
}
},
"timestamp": "2013-09-12T01:37:13.128Z",
"stored": "2013-09-12T01:37:13.128Z",
"authority": {
"name": "Test Activity Provider",
"account": {
"homePage": "http://cloud.scorm.com/",
"name": "FACN92U0w1fM"
},
"objectType": "Agent"
},
"version": "1.0.0",
"object": {
"id": "http://tincanapi.com/webinar/anatomy-of-a-statement/slide37",
"definition": {
"name": {
"en-US": "Slide 37"
}
},
"objectType": "Activity"
}
}

44.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“extensions”
Activity Definition, Context, Result

45.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“extensions” property
● Catch all object
● For use in Activity Definition, Context, and Result
● Properties are URIs
● Values can be anything
● See The Registry
http://id.tincanapi.com/extension/tweet

46.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“attachments”

47.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
“attachments”
● Array of objects defining a list of files
● Required properties
○ “usageType” - URI, The Registry
○ “display” - Language map
○ “contentType” - RFC2046 MIME Media Type
○ “length” - Integer (number of octets)
○ “sha2” - String hash used as identifier
● Optional properties
○ “description” - Language map
○ “fileUrl” - URL for source

48.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Public LRS
Statement Viewer

49.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Public LRS
http://tincanapi.com/public-lrs
Statements generated that are sent to the public endpoint provided on SCORM Cloud
Clicking a statement will show the raw JSON

50.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Questions?

51.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Thank You!

52.
TinCanAPI.com #TinCanAPI
Contact Us
Questions?
Comments?
http://tincanapi.com/talk/
#TinCanAPI
@projecttincan, @k95bm01
info@tincanapi.com, support@tincanapi.com,
brian.miller@tincanapi.com
/join #tincanapi @ freenode