The OAS AdXML Kit: What is it for, how to install & use

I have developed a simple DLL, to facilitate code development in Excel. Without this component it would be necessary to write some extra code in Excel to develop our examples. As I have mentioned before, I am trying to avoid focusing too much on code (but we will need quite a bit) and focus more on getting results -this is really what matters. The DLL is available through SourceForge (click here to download) and the installation follows a standard Windows installation routine. I will make the source code of this DLL available through GitHub, for those who prefer to see what is under the hood.

Once it is installed, it is quite simple to activate for use in VBA (MS-Office macro language). You will, in VBA screen, click on Tools > References and select OAS Integration Module as in the image below.

This will allow you to reference the OAS API by simply creating an object. An example of this follows, using VBA;

The worksheet associated with the code.

PHP code for automatic RLC

As a curiosity, I developed the following code to execute RLC. In terms of process, the main way I use it, is after I have executed all modifications to my campaigns I execute this code for RLC.

MS-Excel: Defending my choice

The examples I have outlined (see old post) have opted to develop using primarily Excel + VBA (we will use some PHP as well). Some of you may cringe at this choice -given that many in this industry are proficient in languages such as PHP, Ruby and Java... But my reasoning is simply that I wanted to develop examples using a tool that is available to most end-users.

Also this is not really a blog about coding, but more about showing with practical examples what can be done with OAS API. Additionally, Excel will allow us to avoid side issues such as some basic math -which we will not have to code for, we can simply use the spreadsheet. To avoid a lot of overhead in learning how to use SOAP through Excel, I have made available through SourceForge (link) a DLL which should facilitate access to the API.

Let's get started!

To get started we have to create our API user... I could bore you to death with a text explanation, but I have decided instead to post a YouTube video (much easier!)

This is really the easiest [booooring!] part, but if you have difficulties write me, I will try to help. The next step is for us to

So, what exactly can we do with the OAS API?

Lots, sky is the limit! This is the short answer, but let's get into specifics. My idea here is to give some of the interesting macro areas I have identified as very promising (added value) and then in the following posts we will work through developing these examples.

Which areas are interesting to extend OAS?

1. Operational Improvements;
• Traffic Automation
• Client Self-Service Pages
2. Process Improvements;
• Integrate Billing Information
• Integrate with Sales Process
3. Ad Operations Enhancements
• Advanced Inventory Management
• Automatic Campaign Optimizations
• Automatic Offload of Excess Inventory
4. Back-end Process Improvements
• Systems Resizing Monitor
• Automatic RLC execution

Maybe not all that I have written is self-explanatory, do not worry we will develop these with examples. The idea is to do basic code to demonstrate these concepts, which could later be developed into full products.

Motivations for this Blog

As an IT professional I have greatly benefited from the Internet. If I were to tally up the countless hours of "free" consulting I have received over the years, well, the bill would be probably be a very scary number! So this is in part about giving back to the community.

But this is not just about the latter, it is also about two subjects that really excite me, software integration, which I have worked with most of my professional life and about leveraging the OpenAdStream (OAS), my current gig. My job does put me in contact with quite large number of content publishers in Latin America and I always come away with a sense that there is so much more that can be done with this software, especially through the use of the API. So this blog is in part about collaborating with other professionals to achieve excellence in the use of OAS.

So... Cheers! Here's to hoping for a very fruitful collaboration.