ipstack

Locate and identify website visitors by IP ipstack offers one of the leading IP to geolocation APIs and global IP database services worldwide.

(from https://ipstack.com/) Unofficial Golang ipstack library.

Take it

go get github.com/qioalice/ipstack

Initialize the package

Just call Init function and pass API token as string

ipstack.Init("token")

Init may return an error if you pass an invalid API token or if it can perform first test query (get info about your IP address).

You can handle it, of course, or disable performing first test query (for diff reasons) using constructor parameter ParamDisableFirstMeCall (read about it below).

if err := ipstack.Init("token"); err != nil { 
    panic(err) 
}

Want to get info about one IP?

Just call IP function and pass IP address info about you want to know as string to the that call.

if res, err := ipstack.IP("8.8.8.8"); err == nil { ... }

Response? Output data? IP info?

When you calling ipstack.IP or ipstack.Me you will get *Response and error objects, when ipstack.IPs - []*Response and error.

Anyway, Response contains an info about one requested IP address. This class don't have any methods and just have all public fields that you can check to get all desired info

But some info can be represented as pointers to the some internal auxiliary response instances: tResponseCurrency for Currency field, for example, or tResponseTimeZone for TimeZone field. It was made 'cause sometimes ipstack willn't provide you the whole information about IP - the all that he's can provide: may be you have limitiations on your account, or requested only 2 or 3 fields instead all.

if res, err := ipstack.IP("8.8.8.8"); err == nil {
    fmt.Printf("My IP: %s, My country: %s (%s)\n", res.IP, res.CountryName, res.CountryCode)
}

Bulk queries?

First, be sure that your account supports the bulk queries (starts from professional tariff). You can read check it and read about it here

So, just call IPs function and pass as many IP addresses as you want but not more than 50 (ipstack limitation).

if ress, err := ipstack.IPs("1.2.3.4", "8.8.8.8", ...); err == nil {
    for _, res := range ress {
        // do smth with each response
    }
}

Your IP address?

When you initialize package or create Client object (read about it below) if you don't disable first test query, you already can get instant info about your IP address. It already stored in the Client object.

So, you have Me function. If Client object already have info about your IP, Me just return it. Want a fresh info and overwrite cache? Me takes unnecessary bool argument, which makes the Me function delete cached info and request the fresh if it will be true.

me, err := ipstack.Me() // get cached info
me, err = ipstack.Me(true) // fetch the fresh info and save it to the cache

What is Client? And what's diff between New and Init

1. There is no functions. Only methods. When you writing ipstack.IP(...) it means ipstack.DefaultClient.IP(...), and as you can guess, Init just initializes (calls New and stores the result) DefaultClient variable. Yes, each package level function (except New and Init of course) just an alias to the some method of DefaultClient object that has Client type.

2. What is Client? Almost wrapper over http.Client object. To be more precision, the flexible way to perform the diff requests with one token (diff fields, diff checking error, diff allocating memory, etc).

3. First New call includes the Init call. New creates a new Client instance with specified parameters. And if ipstack.DefaultClient object is nil, also store it to that.

So. Wanna use a few Clients with the diff tokens? I'm not against.

cli1, err1 := ipstack.New("token1") // 'cli1' also will be stored to the 'ipstack.DefaultClient'
cli2, err2 := ipstack.New("token2")
// ipstack.IP(...) call is the same as cli1.IP(...) (cause 'cli1' created by first calling of 'New')

Constructor (New, Init) arguments (tClientParam)

When you create a Client object using New function or initialize package level default client using Init method, you can pass arguments to the that functions.

I called them "constructors". So, for example you can pass API token as string directly or wrap it to the tClientParam object using ParamToken function.

They allows you to specify behaviour what you want.

ipstack.Init(ipstack.ParamToken("token"))

tClientParam arguments always overwrite arguments that has been passed as not tClientParam. Thus, in the example below, default client will be initialized with "token1"

ipstack.Init(ipstack.ParamToken("token1"), "token2")

Find your favorite parametrizers:

And, for example, it looks like:

cli, err := ipstack.New(
    ipstack.ParamToken("token"), // specify token
    ipstack.ParamDisableFirstMeCall(), // disable first test query
    ipstack.ParamUseHTTPS(true), // force use HTTPS instead HTTP
    ipstack.ParamFields(ipstack.FieldCountryName, ipstack.FieldCurrency) // get only country name and currency info
)

Errors and API errors (tError)

Each IP, IPs or Me (or New/Init with enabled first test query) may return an error object (as only return argument or as a second, depends by method) (only if you're not calling tRequest methods directly, but more about that below).

In Golang, each error object represents by error interface, and error object will be represented by that type.

But you can get API error.

API error is the special error type which signals that technically request will be successfully sent and response will be successfully received and decoded. But contains not an info about requested IP(s) but error message.

In that case you must handle that error as you want. That error represents by tError class, that as you guess, implements the error interface.

At your disposal APIError function that takes an argument of error type and returns the *tError not nil object if error is tError object, and nil if error isn't (and it doesn't matter error is nil or not).

So, now you have tError object. Just check "code", "type", "info" entities to know what kind of error is occur. Use Code, Type and Info methods for that.

And at your service, you can call any of these methods from nil tError object. It means, that if APIError will return nil, you can chain directly Code or Type or Info, w/o checking whether returned object is nil or not.

If tError object is nil, Code will return 0, and Type and Info an empty "" string.

res, err := ipstack.IP("8.8.8.8")
if err := ipstack.APIError(err); err.Code() != 0 {
    // API error is occurred
    panic(err.Type() + " " + err.Info())
}
if err != nil {
    // Unknown error is occurred
    panic(err)
}

R method and tRequest, tResponse classes

Want more flexibility? Get it!
Worry about each allocated byte? Save it!
Want another JSON decoder or/and API error checker? Use it!

Each request to the ipstack Web API represents by tRequest object. Each response by tResponse. No exceptions.

Moreover, Client doesn't contain any behaviour definitions but contains the default request object (tReqeust type), and each call 'IP', 'IPs' or 'Me' method of 'Client' class it's just calling the same methods of default tRequest object. But it can be modified! Even already! Constructor parametrizers have the almost same logic.

1. tRequest methods return tResponse objects. Always. This is a lower level. The price for more flexibility. tResponse objects contains RAW not decoded JSON data by default (RawData field) and error object (Error field) that represents some request or response error. But it guarantees, that if RawData is nil, Error isn't and vice versa.

2. When you get tRequest object, all what you've done with it, willn't apply to the Client object from which you got tRequest object. You can request some different fields for one request, or made it with HTTPS instead HTTP, why not? And any change of behaviour don't saved anywhere except tReqeust object you're working with. But by default this is just a copy of default request of Client.

3. Don't forgot whether response contains API error. As you know, tResponse object contains not decoded JSON RAW data as RawData field. But API may return encoded JSON error. You must check it. Or use internal function CheckError. So, Client methods IP, IPs, Me, if you'd see, just calling the same methods of tRequest and then checks error using CheckError method of tResponse and decode JSON using DecodeTo method (of tResponse too). You can use CheckError method, or do it the way you want.

4. How to decode JSON? This is the finish step. May be checking error and decoding JSON in your logic is the one step, but I prefer to split these steps.
   So, you can use DecodeTo method, that receives only one argument - the destination object. By default it just calls the json.Unmarshal function with tResponse.RawData and received destination argument. But you can decode as you want - by custom JSON decoder, with the saving each unneccessary byte, with writing a very RAM-efficiency algorithm.

1. Call R method of some Client object or call R package function. You'll get tRequest object (copy of base client's request object) with which you can do the next steps.

2. Change behaviour of tRequest. You can use any of described below tRequest method to change its behaviour.

3. Perform request. Call IP, IPs or Me method, save the result (tResponse instance).

4. Check error and decode JSON response. Use CheckError, DecodeTo methods of tResponse or use your personal way.

// 'cli' will always perform requests over HTTPS and with default set of fields
cli, err := ipstack.New("token", ipstack.ParamUseHTTPS(true)) 
// but we want perform a few queries over HTTP and with only one field - ip's country name

// we can save cretated 'tRequest' object and then perform queries
req := cli.R().UseHTTPS(false).Fields(ipstack.FieldCountryName) // 'req' type is '*tRequest'
resp1 := req.IP("8.8.8.8") // 'resp' type is '*tResponse', query over HTTP and with only one field
resp2 := req.IP("1.2.3.4") // the same as above
resp3 := cli.IP("1.2.3.5") // will be over HTTPS and with default fields

// or don't save 'tRequest' object and perform query right away
// but in this way we should change behaviour to the desired each time
resp1 = cli.R().UseHTTPS(false).Fields(ipstack.FieldCountryName).IP("8.8.8.8")
resp2 = cli.R().UseHTTPS(false).Fields(ipstack.FieldCountryName).IP("1.2.3.4")
resp3 = cli.IP("1.2.3.5") // will be over HTTPS and with default fields

// then we must check errors
if err := resp1.CheckError(); err != nil {
    if err := ipstack.APIError(err); err.Code != 0 {
        // Some API error, check 'err.Code(), err.Type(), err.Info()'
    } else {
        // Some another error
    }
}
// and decode JSON (for example to the map)
mresp := map[string]interface{}{}
if err := resp1.DecodeTo(&mresp); err != nil {
    // Decode error
}

// or may be you want check error and decode JSON manually over each byte?
for _, b := range resp1.RawData { ... } // 'resp1.RawData' type is '[]byte'

To Do

The current version of this library is beta.

• There is no tests (they're exists, but I don't commit them now, I'll do it later, when I'll documented them and make them more cute).
• Also, there is no examples. I tried to write as much code examples as I can, but anyway, there's no complex example. One or more.
• And, of course, may be I'll add some another functional to the libarary, but atm I dunno what else I can add.
  But. I definitely won't break the package API.

License

qioalice@gmail.com, Alice Qio, 2019.
MIT