Day 71 - New Week

Listing Automation

Today was dedicated to exploring our options for automating the listing process on DBA. As mentioned previously, DBA doesn't provide API access for external developers, requiring alternative approaches. The most viable solution appears to be a browser extension, a method used by other cross-listing tools as well. Thus, I looked deeper into it to access its feasibility.

While I've created browser extensions before, the complexity required here surpasses my previous experiences. The extension must be capable of extracting information from our website/database and utilizing it to populate dynamically generated listings on various marketplaces. Additionally, I needed to make decisions regarding the tooling for this new project. Initially, I opted for simplicity, relying on plain JavaScript, CSS, and HTML, with the option to change to a more robust framework later.

I managed to develop a basic extension today. Despite all the moving parts, its structure is relatively straightforward, revolving around messaging between different processes. By evening, I had a rudimentary demo in production. With a simple click on our page, the extension would open a new tab, load DBA, and automatically input data from our platform and create the listing. It is only a demo with clear flaws; for instance, I've lost manual access to DBA since the script commandeers the page upon opening, it expects the user to already be logged in and more. Nevertheless, it is a promising start.