Introduction

Zend_Service_Twitter provides a client for the » Twitter REST API. Zend_Service_Twitter allows you to query the public timeline. If you provide a username and OAuth details for Twitter, it will allow you to get and update your status, reply to friends, direct message friends, mark tweets as favorite, and much more.

Zend_Service_Twitter implements a REST service, and all methods return an instance of Zend_Rest_Client_Result.

Zend_Service_Twitter is broken up into subsections so you can easily identify which type of call is being requested.

account makes sure that your account credentials are valid, checks your API rate limit, and ends the current session for the authenticated user.
status retrieves the public and user timelines and shows, updates, destroys, and retrieves replies for the authenticated user.
user retrieves friends and followers for the authenticated user and returns extended information about a passed user.
directMessage retrieves the authenticated user's received direct messages, deletes direct messages, and sends new direct messages.
friendship creates and removes friendships for the authenticated user.
favorite lists, creates, and removes favorite tweets.
block blocks and unblocks users from following you.

Authentication

With the exception of fetching the public timeline, Zend_Service_Twitter requires authentication as a valid user. This is achieved using the OAuth authentication protocol. OAuth is the only supported authentication mode for Twitter as of August 2010. The OAuth implementation used by Zend_Service_Twitter is Zend_Oauth.

Example #1 Creating the Twitter Class

Zend_Service_Twitter must authorize itself, on behalf of a user, before use with the Twitter API (except for public timeline). This must be accomplished using OAuth since Twitter has disabled it's basic HTTP authentication as of August 2010.

There are two options to establishing authorization. The first is to implement the workflow of Zend_Oauth via Zend_Service_Twitter which proxies to an internal Zend_Oauth_Consumer object. Please refer to the Zend_Oauth documentation for a full example of this workflow - you can call all documented Zend_Oauth_Consumer methods on Zend_Service_Twitter including constructor options. You may also use Zend_Oauth directly and only pass the resulting access token into Zend_Service_Twitter. This is the normal workflow once you have established a reusable access token for a particular Twitter user. The resulting OAuth access token should be stored to a database for future use (otherwise you will need to authorize for every new instance of Zend_Service_Twitter). Bear in mind that authorization via OAuth results in your user being redirected to Twitter to give their consent to the requested authorization (this is not repeated for stored access tokens). This will require additional work (i.e. redirecting users and hosting a callback URL) over the previous HTTP authentication mechanism where a user just needed to allow applications to store their username and password.

The following example demonstrates setting up Zend_Service_Twitter which is given an already established OAuth access token. Please refer to the Zend_Oauth documentation to understand the workflow involved. The access token is a serializable object, so you may store the serialized object to a database, and unserialize it at retrieval time before passing the objects into Zend_Service_Twitter. The Zend_Oauth documentation demonstrates the workflow and objects involved.

/**
 * We assume $serializedToken is the serialized token retrieved from a database
 * or even $_SESSION (if following the simple Zend_Oauth documented example)
 */
$token = unserialize($serializedToken);
 
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(
    'username' => 'johndoe',
    'accessToken' => $token
));
 
// verify user's credentials with Twitter
$response = $twitter->account->verifyCredentials();

Note: In order to authenticate with Twitter, ALL applications MUST be registered with Twitter in order to receive a Consumer Key and Consumer Secret to be used when authenticating with OAuth. This can not be reused across multiple applications - you must register each new application separately. Twitter access tokens have no expiry date, so storing them to a database is advised (they can, of course, be refreshed simply be repeating the OAuth authorization process). This can only be done while interacting with the user associated with that access token.
The previous pre-OAuth version of Zend_Service_Twitter allowed passing in a username as the first parameter rather than within an array. This is no longer supported.

Account Methods

verifyCredentials() tests if supplied user credentials are valid with minimal overhead.
Example #2 Verifying credentials
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->account->verifyCredentials();
endSession() signs users out of client-facing applications.
Example #3 Sessions ending
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->account->endSession();
rateLimitStatus() returns the remaining number of API requests available to the authenticating user before the API limit is reached for the current hour.
Example #4 Rating limit status
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->account->rateLimitStatus();

Status Methods

publicTimeline() returns the 20 most recent statuses from non-protected users with a custom user icon. The public timeline is cached by Twitter for 60 seconds.
Example #5 Retrieving public timeline
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->status->publicTimeline();
friendsTimeline() returns the 20 most recent statuses posted by the authenticating user and that user's friends.
Example #6 Retrieving friends timeline
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->status->friendsTimeline();
The friendsTimeline() method accepts an array of optional parameters to modify the query.
- since narrows the returned results to just those statuses created after the specified date/time (up to 24 hours old).
- page specifies which page you want to return.
userTimeline() returns the 20 most recent statuses posted from the authenticating user.
Example #7 Retrieving user timeline
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->status->userTimeline();
The userTimeline() method accepts an array of optional parameters to modify the query.
- id specifies the ID or screen name of the user for whom to return the friends_timeline.
- since narrows the returned results to just those statuses created after the specified date/time (up to 24 hours old).
- page specifies which page you want to return.
- count specifies the number of statuses to retrieve. May not be greater than 200.
show() returns a single status, specified by the id parameter below. The status' author will be returned inline.
Example #8 Showing user status
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->status->show(1234);
update() updates the authenticating user's status. This method requires that you pass in the status update that you want to post to Twitter.
Example #9 Updating user status
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->status->update('My Great Tweet');
The update() method accepts a second additional parameter.
- in_reply_to_status_id specifies the ID of an existing status that the status to be posted is in reply to.
replies() returns the 20 most recent @replies (status updates prefixed with @username) for the authenticating user.
Example #10 Showing user replies
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->status->replies();
The replies() method accepts an array of optional parameters to modify the query.
- since narrows the returned results to just those statuses created after the specified date/time (up to 24 hours old).
- page specifies which page you want to return.
- since_id returns only statuses with an ID greater than (that is, more recent than) the specified ID.
destroy() destroys the status specified by the required id parameter.
Example #11 Deleting user status
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->status->destroy(12345);

User Methods

friends()r eturns up to 100 of the authenticating user's friends who have most recently updated, each with current status inline.
Example #12 Retrieving user friends
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->user->friends();
The friends() method accepts an array of optional parameters to modify the query.
- id specifies the ID or screen name of the user for whom to return a list of friends.
- since narrows the returned results to just those statuses created after the specified date/time (up to 24 hours old).
- page specifies which page you want to return.
followers() returns the authenticating user's followers, each with current status inline.
Example #13 Retrieving user followers
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->user->followers();
The followers() method accepts an array of optional parameters to modify the query.
- id specifies the ID or screen name of the user for whom to return a list of followers.
- page specifies which page you want to return.
show() returns extended information of a given user, specified by ID or screen name as per the required id parameter below.
Example #14 Showing user informations
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->user->show('myfriend');

Direct Message Methods

messages() returns a list of the 20 most recent direct messages sent to the authenticating user.
Example #15 Retrieving recent direct messages received
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->directMessage->messages();
The message() method accepts an array of optional parameters to modify the query.
- since_id returns only direct messages with an ID greater than (that is, more recent than) the specified ID.
- since narrows the returned results to just those statuses created after the specified date/time (up to 24 hours old).
- page specifies which page you want to return.
sent() returns a list of the 20 most recent direct messages sent by the authenticating user.
Example #16 Retrieving recent direct messages sent
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->directMessage->sent();
The sent() method accepts an array of optional parameters to modify the query.
- since_id returns only direct messages with an ID greater than (that is, more recent than) the specified ID.
- since narrows the returned results to just those statuses created after the specified date/time (up to 24 hours old).
- page specifies which page you want to return.
new() sends a new direct message to the specified user from the authenticating user. Requires both the user and text parameters below.
Example #17 Sending direct message
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->directMessage->new('myfriend', 'mymessage');
destroy() destroys the direct message specified in the required id parameter. The authenticating user must be the recipient of the specified direct message.
Example #18 Deleting direct message
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->directMessage->destroy(123548);

Friendship Methods

create() befriends the user specified in the id parameter with the authenticating user.
Example #19 Creating friend
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->friendship->create('mynewfriend');
destroy() discontinues friendship with the user specified in the id parameter and the authenticating user.
Example #20 Deleting friend
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->friendship->destroy('myoldfriend');
exists() tests if a friendship exists between the user specified in the id parameter and the authenticating user.
Example #21 Checking friend existence
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->friendship->exists('myfriend');

Favorite Methods

favorites() returns the 20 most recent favorite statuses for the authenticating user or user specified by the id parameter.
Example #22 Retrieving favorites
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->favorite->favorites();
The favorites() method accepts an array of optional parameters to modify the query.
- id specifies the ID or screen name of the user for whom to request a list of favorite statuses.
- page specifies which page you want to return.
create() favorites the status specified in the id parameter as the authenticating user.
Example #23 Creating favorites
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->favorite->create(12351);
destroy() un-favorites the status specified in the id parameter as the authenticating user.
Example #24 Deleting favorites
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->favorite->destroy(12351);

Block Methods

exists() checks if the authenticating user is blocking a target user and can optionally return the blocked user's object if a block does exists.
Example #25 Checking if block exists
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

// returns true or false

$response = $twitter->block->exists('blockeduser');

// returns the blocked user's info if the user is blocked

$response2 = $twitter->block->exists('blockeduser', true);
The favorites() method accepts a second optional parameter.
- returnResult specifies whether or not return the user object instead of just TRUE or FALSE.
create() blocks the user specified in the id parameter as the authenticating user and destroys a friendship to the blocked user if one exists. Returns the blocked user in the requested format when successful.
Example #26 Blocking a user
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->block->create('usertoblock);
destroy() un-blocks the user specified in the id parameter for the authenticating user. Returns the un-blocked user in the requested format when successful.
Example #27 Removing a block
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

$response = $twitter->block->destroy('blockeduser');
blocking() returns an array of user objects that the authenticating user is blocking.
Example #28 Who are you blocking
$twitter = new Zend_Service_Twitter(array(

'username' => 'johndoe',

'accessToken' => $token

));

// return the full user list from the first page

$response = $twitter->block->blocking();

// return an array of numeric user IDs from the second page

$response2 = $twitter->block->blocking(2, true);
The favorites() method accepts two optional parameters.
- page specifies which page ou want to return. A single page contains 20 IDs.
- returnUserIds specifies whether to return an array of numeric user IDs the authenticating user is blocking instead of an array of user objects.

Zend_Service_Twitter_Search

Introduction

Zend_Service_Twitter_Search provides a client for the » Twitter Search API. The Twitter Search service is use to search Twitter. Currently, it only returns data in Atom or JSON format, but a full REST service is in the future, which will support XML responses.

Twitter Trends

Returns the top ten queries that are currently trending on Twitter. The response includes the time of the request, the name of each trending topic, and the url to the Twitter Search results page for that topic. Currently the search API for trends only supports a JSON return so the function returns an array.

$twitterSearch  = new Zend_Service_Twitter_Search();
$twitterTrends  = $twitterSearch->trends();
 
foreach ($twitterTrends as $trend) {
    print $trend['name'] . ' - ' . $trend['url'] . PHP_EOL
}

The return array has two values in it:

name is the name of trend.
url is the URL to see the tweets for that trend.

Searching Twitter

Using the search method returns tweets that match a specific query. There are a number of » Search Operators that you can use to query with.

The search method can accept six different optional URL parameters passed in as an array:

lang restricts the tweets to a given language. lang must be given by an » ISO 639-1 code.
rpp is the number of tweets to return per page, up to a maximum of 100.
page specifies the page number to return, up to a maximum of roughly 1500 results (based on rpp * page).
since_id returns tweets with status IDs greater than the given ID.
show_user specifies whether to add ">user<:" to the beginning of the tweet. This is useful for readers that do not display Atom's author field. The default is "FALSE".
geocode returns tweets by users located within a given radius of the given latitude/longitude, where the user's location is taken from their Twitter profile. The parameter value is specified by "latitude,longitude,radius", where radius units must be specified as either "mi" (miles) or "km" (kilometers).

Example #29 JSON Search Example

The following code sample will return an array with the search results.

$twitterSearch  = new Zend_Service_Twitter_Search('json');
$searchResults  = $twitterSearch->search('zend', array('lang' => 'en'));

Example #30 ATOM Search Example

The following code sample will return a Zend_Feed_Atom object.

$twitterSearch  = new Zend_Service_Twitter_Search('atom');
$searchResults  = $twitterSearch->search('zend', array('lang' => 'en'));

Zend-specific Accessor Methods

While the Twitter Search API only specifies two methods, Zend_Service_Twitter_Search has additional methods that may be used for retrieving and modifying internal properties.

getResponseType() and setResponseType() allow you to retrieve and modify the response type of the search between JSON and Atom.