Using the M'Cheyne daily Bible reading server
The Interactive M'Cheyne Bible Calendar uses a client-server architecture, and the data-server is available if you want to incorporate the daily readings into your own Web pages or application.
There used to be a long explanation here how to do this, but frankly it got too much bother to maintain. By all means contact me if you want a hand.
RSS feed
In short, the easiest option is probably to use the RSS feed if you use some blogging or templating software since these often include tools for handling RSS. See how to configure the feed at the RSS page.
Server access
Alternatively, the server output is available in XML. The feed is here: XML M'Cheyne data. You can see what it looks like without browser formatting here: raw XML M'Cheyne data.
The server uses HTTP GET to set the parameters as follows.
- bible= : The Bible version for the generated links. See the XML output for options. It should be lowercase. If omitted, 'niv' is assumed.
- cal= : The calendar version, either 'classic' or 'carson', again lowercase. If omitted, 'classic' is assumed.
- tz= : Your timezone relative to GMT, from -12 to +12. If omitted, the timezone is GMT, and the readings will change at midnight GMT, which may be quite different from your local midnight.
- day= : The day number from 0 to 364. If it is omitted, today's readings are delivered, taking the timezone onto account, otherwise readings for the specified day are returned and timezone is ignored. There are exactly 365 readings specified, so you may have to deal with Feb 29 as a special case in leap years.
Conditions
Basically, I am happy for you to use the server and data in any way you wish. If your usage of the server threatens to overwhelm my limited bandwidth, or I deem it to be unsuitable for any other reason, then I reserve the right to cut off access without notice or explanation. As ever, a link to these pages, and an acknowledgement would be appreciated!
Ben Edgington, 2009