Bing Search API via Ruby curb

Question

I am trying to get Bing search results for a query. I am using Ruby and curb, but couldn't get any result back from API server. I always get 400 Bad Request.

This is what API documentation says for PHP

Here is my code:

require 'curb'
require 'base64'

acctKey = "something"
authKey = Base64.encode64("#{acctKey}:#{acctKey}")
http = Curl.get("https://api.datamarket.azure.com/Bing/Search/Web?$format=json&Query=%27Xbox%27") do |http|
    http.headers['Authorization'] = "Basic #{authKey}"
    http.headers['request_fulluri'] = true
    http.headers['ignore_errors'] = false
    http.verbose = true
end

Here is the result:

* About to connect() to api.datamarket.azure.com port 443 (#0)
*   Trying 157.55.194.132...
* Connected to api.datamarket.azure.com (157.55.194.132) port 443 (#0)
* Connected to api.datamarket.azure.com (157.55.194.132) port 443 (#0)
* SSL connection using AES128-SHA
* Server certificate:
*    subject: C=US; ST=WA; L=Redmond; O=Microsoft; OU=STBOS-Clouddb; CN=api.datamarket.azure.com
*    start date: 2012-08-31 18:37:12 GMT
*    expire date: 2013-07-31 21:26:57 GMT
*    common name: api.datamarket.azure.com (matched)
*    issuer: DC=com; DC=microsoft; DC=corp; DC=redmond; CN=Microsoft Secure Server Authority
*    SSL certificate verify ok.
> GET /Bing/Search/Web?$format=json&Query=%27Xbox%27& HTTP/1.1
Host: api.datamarket.azure.com
Accept: */*
request_fulluri: true
ignore_errors: false
Authorization: Basic ...

< HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
< Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
< Server: Microsoft-HTTPAPI/2.0
< Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:30:22 GMT
< Connection: close
< Content-Length: 339
< 
* Closing connection #0

What would be going wrong?

Answer 1

Try this:

require 'curb'
require 'base64'

acctKey = "<YOUR KEY>"
authKey = Base64.strict_encode64("#{acctKey}:#{acctKey}")
http = Curl.get("https://api.datamarket.azure.com/Bing/Search/Web", {:$format => "json", :Query => "'Xbox'"}) do |http|
    http.headers['Authorization'] = "Basic #{authKey}"
    http.verbose = true
end

puts http.body_str

Note a couple things:

1. Base64.encode64 returns a string with newlines. strict_encode64 will avoid that problem. (You could also just remove the newlines.)
2. I had trouble with putting the query parameters directly in the URL. I just moved the parameters out into a hash, which is probably the more typical way to do it.
3. (EDIT) I also took out the two bogus headers "request_fulluri" and "ignore_errors". I don't think those were actual headers in the Perl code. I didn't try leaving them in, so perhaps they're harmless, but I don't think you want them.