Content Display
This documentation explains how user-generated content (UGC), including reviews and statistics, as well as product information can be displayed using the mobile SDK.
Introduction
Use the Bazaarvoice Mobile SDKs to enable Conversations functionality, such as Ratings and Reviews. The Conversations module provides an easy-to-use wrapper around the Conversations API. Contact Bazaarvoice to set up Conversations.
You will need your
apiKeyConversationsto implement and use Conversations with Mobile SDKs.
Installation instructions
With Gradle
Include the Maven Central repository and add the appropriate Bazaarvoice Mobile SDK modules to your dependencies:
dependencies {
implementation 'com.bazaarvoice.bvandroidsdk:conversations:{BV_SDK_VERSION}.+'
implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:9.{YOUR_PLAY_SERVICES_VERSION}'
implementation 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:25.{YOUR_SUPPORT_LIBRARY_VERSION}'
implementation 'com.bazaarvoice.bvandroidsdk:conversations-ui: {BV_SDK_VERSION}.+'
}
repositories {
mavenCentral()
}
Replace the {tokens}, including brackets, with the appropriate values. Refer to the Installation guide for {BV_SDK_VERSION}.
Extending the application
Create a class that extends android.app.Application, and initialize the Mobile SDK using its builder.
You can find a full list of build options in BVSDK.java.
public class MyApplication extends Application {
@Override
public void onCreate(){
super.onCreate();
BVSDK.builder(application, BazaarEnvironment.PRODUCTION)
.logLevel(BVLogLevel.VERBOSE) // Optional: Set the log level. Default level is ERROR.
.dryRunAnalytics(false) // Optional: Set analytics to log only, not make a network request. Default is false.
.okHttpClient(okHttpClient) // Optional: Use you own okHttpClient instance
.build();
}
}
App manifest file
Add the following to your AndroidManifest.xml file.
<!-- set the name of the class for the application entry -->
<application
android:name=".MyApplication">
</application>
Using Conversations Display API
After you install the Mobile SDK, you can refer to the guide below for using the API and Conversations UI containers for displaying Product Review Statistics, Reviews, Question, Answers, and Bulk Ratings of several products at once.
If you need to check the list of possible parameters for any of the below APIs, please refer the below links and select the API from section contents:
BVConversationsClient
Use a Bazaarvoice ViewGroup class to make all your Conversations Display API requests.
- Product Display Page
- Reviews
- Questions & Answers
- Comments
- Bulk Ratings
- Author Profile
- Review Highlights
Loading a product display page
When showing a product display page, use a ProductDisplayPageRequest to fetch useful data like reviewStatistics or to include the first 10 Review reviews.
First, let's look at a simple ProductDisplayPageRequest
// request product information, including statistics on reviews and questions/answers.
ProductDisplayPageRequest request = new ProductDisplayPageRequest.Builder("test1")
.addIncludeStatistics(PDPContentType.Reviews)
.addIncludeStatistics(PDPContentType.Questions)
.build();
In the code above, a ProductDisplayPageRequest is created for productId test1. We also include statistics for reviews and questions/answers. You may want to include some actual content with it, as shown below. We also sort the included reviews by their submissionTime.
// request product information, including statistics on reviews and questions/answers.
ProductDisplayPageRequest request = new ProductDisplayPageRequest.Builder("test1")
.addIncludeContent(PDPContentType.Reviews, 10)
.addIncludeContent(PDPContentType.Questions, 5)
.addReviewSort(ReviewOptions.Sort.SubmissionTime, SortOrder.DESC)
.build();
Let's load this request!
To do so, pass the request to your BVConversationsClient instance as shown below.
BVConversationsClient client = new BVConversationsClient.Builder(BVSDK.getInstance()).build(); // Use one instance
client.prepareCall(request).loadAsync(new ConversationsCallback<ProductDisplayPageResponse>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(ProductDisplayPageResponse response) {
//called on Main Thread
response.getResults(); //contains the product
}
@Override
public void onFailure(BazaarException exception) {
//called on Main Thread
}
});
Loading more reviews
As shown previously, you should use a ReviewsRequest to load the first page of UGC that your users will see (up to 20 items). When loading reviews, you should request and display reviews in a BVUiReviewsRecyclerView or BVUiReviewsContainerView container:
BVConversationsClient client = new BVConversationsClient.Builder(BVSDK.getInstance()).build(); // Use one instance
ReviewsRequest reviewsRequest = new ReviewsRequest.Builder("test1", 10, 20).build();
reviewsRecyclerView = (BVUiReviewsRecyclerView) findViewById(R.id.my_reviews_recycler_view);
reviewsRecyclerView.loadAsync(client.prepareCall(reviewsRequest), new ConversationsCallback<ReviewResponse>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(ReviewResponse response) {
//called on Main Thread
response.getResults(); //contains reviews
}
@Override
public void onFailure(BazaarException exception) {
//called on Main Thread
}
});
A ReviewsRequest requires three parameters:
productId- the productId that you want reviews for
or
primaryFilterand~Id- i.e. to get reviews by author you'd use primaryFilter.AuthorId and the Author's Id. ValidprimaryFiltersincludeId,AuthorId,ProductId,SubmissionId, andCategoryAncestorId.limit- max number of reviews to fetch (maximum of 20)offset- the index to start on
A combination of limit and offset should be used to load more pages of reviews upon the user's request.
You can add filters and sorts to the request, as shown below:
ReviewsRequest request = new ReviewsRequest.Builder("test1", 10, 0)
.addFilter(ReviewOptions.Filter.HasPhotos, EqualityOperator.EQ, "")
.addSort(ReviewOptions.Sort.Rating, SortOrder.DESC)
.build();
Loading reviews is simply done by calling the loadAsync() method on the chosen Reviews View container as shown above.
Displaying Ratings & Reviews
Multiple reviews should be shown in one of the following container view:
BVUiReviewsRecyclerViewBVUiReviewsContainerView
Each review should be shown using a ReviewView.
Loading more Questions & Answers
Similarly to reviews, you should use a QuestionAndAnswerRequest to load the first page of Questions & Answers (up to the first 20 questions). When loading questions, you should request and display questions in a BVUiQuestionsRecyclerView or BVUiQuestionsContainerView container:
BVConversationsClient client = new BVConversationsClient.Builder(BVSDK.getInstance()).build(); // Use one instance
QuestionAndAnswerRequest questionsRequest = new QuestionAndAnswerRequest.Builder("test1", 10, 20).build();
questionsRecyclerView = (BVUiQuestionsRecyclerView) findViewById(R.id.my_questions_recycler_view);
questionsRecyclerView.loadAsync(client.prepareCall(questionsRequest), new ConversationsCallback<QuestionAndAnswerResponse>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(QuestionAndAnswerResponse response) {
//called on Main Thread
response.getResults();
}
@Override
public void onFailure(BazaarException exception) {
//called on Main Thread
}
});
A QuestionsAndAnswersRequest requires the same three parameters as a ReviewsRequest:
- productId - the productId that you want questions for
- limit - max number of questions to fetch (maximum of 20)
- offset - the index to start on
A combination of limit and offset should be used to load more pages of questions upon the user's request.
You can add filters and sorts to the request, as shown below:
QuestionsAndAnswersRequest request = new QuestionsAndAnswersRequest.Builder("test1", 10, 0)
.addFilter(QuestionOptions.Filter.HasPhotos, EqualityOperator.EQ, "")
.addQuestionSort(QuestionOptions.Sort.TotalAnswerCount, SortOrder.DESC)
.addAnswerSort(AnswerOptions.Sort.SubmissionTime, SortOrder.ASC)
.build();
Displaying Questions & Answers
Questions & Answers should be shown in one of the following container view:
BVUiQuestionsRecyclerViewBVUiQuestionsContainerViewAnswersRecyclerViewAnswersContainerView
Each question should be shown using a QuestionView, and each answer should be shown using an AnswerView.
Loading review comments
Comments can be loaded either by a single comment ID, or you can load comments by a review ID with limit and offset parameters. Simply construct a CommentsRequest object and choose one of the default constructors provided. The example provided below demonstrate how to fetch a list of comments from a given review ID.
BVConversationsClient client = new BVConversationsClient.Builder(BVSDK.getInstance()).build(); // Use one instance
CommentsRequest request = new CommentsRequest.Builder(reviewId, 20, 0)
// Add other optional parameters
.addSort(CommentOptions.Sort.SUBMISSION_TIME, SortOrder.DESC)
.addIncludeContent(CommentIncludeType.PRODUCTS, 99)
.addFilter(CommentOptions.Filter.CONTENT_LOCALE, EqualityOperator.EQ, "en_US")
.build();
client.prepareCall(request).loadAsync(new ConversationsCallback() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(CommentsResponse response) {
// successful response, get the comments and draw your UI
}
@Override
public void onFailure(BazaarException exception) {
// add your error handling logic here
}
});
Showing bulk ratings
To show product rating statistics on a category page, use a BulkRatingsRequest. For example, on a category page like this one:
Getting each product's rating statistics can be done with the following single request:
List productIds = Arrays.asList("test1", "test2", "test3", "test4");
BulkRatingsRequest request = new BulkRatingsRequest
.Builder(productIds, BulkRatingOptions.StatsType.All).build();
Which can be loaded with:
BVConversationsClient client = new BVConversationsClient.Builder(BVSDK.getInstance()).build(); // Use one instance
client.prepareCall(request).loadAsync(new ConversationsCallback<BulkRatingsResponse>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(BulkRatingsResponse response) {
//called on Main Thread
for (Statistics stats : response.getResults()) {
String productId = "";
Float avgRating = Float.NaN;
Integer totalReviewCount = 0;
ProductStatistics productStats = stats.getProductStatistics();
if (productStats != null) {
productId = productStats.getProductId();
ReviewStatistics reviewStats = productStats.getReviewStatistics();
if (reviewStats != null) {
avgRating = reviewStats.getAverageOverallRating();
totalReviewCount = reviewStats.getTotalReviewCount();
}
}
String msg = String
.format("productId: %s, avgRating: %f, totalReviewCount: %d",
productId, avgRating, totalReviewCount);
Log.d("BulkRatings", msg);
}
}
@Override
public void onFailure(BazaarException exception) {
//called on Main Thread
Log.e("BulkRatings", "Failed to get bulk ratings", exception);
}
});
Showing authors profile
Badge display
Please note that image links are not returned from the Conversations API. The display for Conversation API clients is left up to the client's creative interpretation. For more information please see the Conversations Developer documentation on Badges.
To show an Authors profile, use an AuthorsRequest. For example:
AuthorsRequest request = new AuthorsRequest.Builder("authorId")
.addIncludeContent(AuthorIncludeType.REVIEWS, 10)
.addIncludeContent(AuthorIncludeType.QUESTIONS, 11)
.addIncludeContent(AuthorIncludeType.ANSWERS, 12)
.addIncludeContent(AuthorIncludeType.COMMENTS, 12)
.addReviewSort(ReviewOptions.Sort.SubmissionTime, SortOrder.DESC)
.addQuestionSort(QuestionOptions.Sort.SubmissionTime, SortOrder.DESC)
.addAnswerSort(AnswerOptions.Sort.AuthorId, SortOrder.DESC)
.addIncludeStatistics(AuthorIncludeType.REVIEWS)
.addIncludeStatistics(AuthorIncludeType.QUESTIONS)
.addIncludeStatistics(AuthorIncludeType.ANSWERS)
.build();
Which can be loaded with:
BVConversationsClient client = new BVConversationsClient.Builder(BVSDK.getInstance()).build(); // Use one instance
client.newCall(request).enqueue(new ConversationsCallback() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(AuthorsResponse response) {
if (response.getHasErrors()) {
// Handle API request errors
return;
}
List authors = response.getResults();
if (authors.size() > 0) {
Author author = authors.get(0);
// Use the author object
}
}
@Override
public void onFailure(BazaarException exception) {
exception.printStackTrace();
}
);
Loading Review Highlights
Load Review Highlights (PROS and CONS) by specifying a product ID and client ID.
ReviewHighlightsRequest request = new ReviewHighlightsRequest.Builder("productId").build();
BVConversationsClient client = new BVConversationsClient.Builder(BVSDK.getInstance()).build(); // Use one instance
client.prepareCall(request).loadAsync(new ConversationsDisplayCallback<ReviewHighlightsResponse>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(ReviewHighlightsResponse response) {
List<ReviewHighlight> positives = response.getReviewHighlights().getPositives();
List<ReviewHighlight> negatives = response.getReviewHighlights().getNegatives();
for (ReviewHighlight positive : positives) {
String title = positive.title; // PRO TITLE
}
for (ReviewHighlight negative : negatives) {
String title = negative.title; // CON TITLE
}
}
@Override
public void onFailure(ConversationsException exception) {
// HANDLE ERROR
}
});
Custom key-value pairs
If there is some query parameter that is not supported by the SDK, that your configuration supports, you can add it to a Display Request as follows:
final ReviewsRequest reviewsRequest = new ReviewsRequest.Builder(productId, limit, offset)
.addCustomDisplayParameter("customKey", "customValue")
.build();
Conversations display: UI containers
In order to provide user interaction analytics that help produce useful ROI (return on investment) reports, and more accurate future recommendations, you should use the SDK-provided views when requesting and displaying Reviews, Questions, or Answers.
The SDK supports the following sub-classed types of view containers, depending on your preference:
- FrameLayout: BVUiReviewsContainerView, AnswersContainerView, BVUiQuestionsContainerView
- RecyclerView: BVUiReviewsRecyclerView, AnswersRecyclerView, BVUiQuestionsRecyclerView
For a refrence implementation on utilizing the Reviews, Question, and Answers containers, please refer to the sample application in the SDK.
Updated 9 months ago