Getting Started
## Introduction
This guide is intended primarily for developers. It is a supplement to our [technical documentation](https://developers.booking.com/api/technical.html), which should be consulted for more detailed information on all endpoints.
## Major and Minor Versions
Versions are named as follows: MAJOR.MINOR
Examples:
v2.0 - major version 2, minor version 0
v2.1 - major version 2, minor version 1
Features will not be removed in minor versions except when required for legal or security reasons. This means that minor versions will be backwards-compatible with their corresponding major versions.
Minor versions may include:
- New features (parameters and output values).
- Fields that may be marked as deprecated. These fields will be removed in the next major version.
## Authentication
The Booking.com Demand API uses HTTP Basic Authentication. For more details, please refer to this [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_access_authentication).
## Sample URLs
General syntax:
https://[domain]/[version]</[xml or json]>/[endpoint]?[parameters]
JSON and XML examples for v2.0:
- GET https://distribution-xml.booking.com/2.0/hotels?hotel_ids=10004
- GET https://distribution-xml.booking.com/2.0/xml/hotels?hotel_ids=10004
The default output format is JSON. XML output can be obtained adding `/xml` to the URL, or by passing the HTTP header `Accept: text/xml`
Our [technical documentation](https://developers.booking.com/api/technical.html) contains JSON URL samples for every endpoint.
## Output format
**JSON example**
```
{
"result": [
],
"errors": [ {
"code": 1000,
"message": "Sample error message"
} ],
"warnings": [ {
"code": 1001,
"message": "Sample warning message"
} ],
"request_params": {
}
}
```
** XML example **
```
<EndpointName>
<result></result>
<result></result>
<errors>
<code>1000</code>
<message>Sample error message</message>
</errors>
<warnings>
<code>1001</code>
<message>Sample warning message</message>
</warnings>
<request_params></request_params>
</EndpointName>
```
**Note:** To generate request_params (requested parameters) in the output, the input parameter **show_request_params=1** needs to be added in the request. This can be useful for debugging.
## Pagination
The **offset** and **rows** input parameters are used for pagination.
The **offset** input parameter specifies where in the resulting list to start pagination.
The **rows** parameter specifies the maximum number of entries to return.
## Usage Examples:
Retrieve the first 100 entries: **cities?offset=0&rows=100**
Retrieve the next 100 entries starting from the 100th row: **cities?offset=100&rows=100**
## Limitations
Requests made to the API cannot exceed 8192 characters. In the event of a violation, user will receive a HTTP 403 error response.
HTTP GET requests may not contain a request body. In the event of a violatoin, user will receive a HTTP 403 error response.
