Access curated data frames containing Star Trek timeline data.
mb_timeline(x, html = FALSE)a list of two data frames
The timeline data is from the Memory Beta Chronology.
x can be a numeric vector of years, e.g. x = 2361:2364. This should only
be used if you know (or can safely assume) a year exists as a page on Memory
Beta. Check there first if unsure. x may otherwise be scalar character.
This can be a specific decade in the form, e.g., "2370s". If a decade, it
must fall in the range from "1900s" through "2490s". The decade option
pulls back data from the decade page entry, or if individual year pages exist
within the given decade, it will pull the data for each existing year.
Special values: For the more distant past or future, use the character
options x = "past" or x = "future". x = "main" will pull from the main
part of the timeline, 1900 - 2499. x = "complete" combines past, main, and
future in order.
The distant past and future have few entries, and thus few pages. However,
both of these last two options, "main" and complete, must download a
large number of pages. For this reason, rtrek employs anti-DOS measures to
prevent an unwitting user from making too many requests too quickly from
Memory Beta. The function would otherwise be far faster. However, to be a
friendly neighbor in the cosmos, rtrek enforces a minimum one-second wait
between timeline requests. This can lead to downloading the full timeline to
take ten minutes or so even if you have a fast connection; most of the time
it takes is spent waiting patiently.
Also, like other functions that work with Memory Alpha and Memory Beta data,
mb_timeline() wraps around internal functions that are sensibly memoized.
This means that if you make the same call twice in your R session, you won't
have to wait at all, because the result is cached in memory. The call will
appear to run instantaneously the second time around, but that's because
nothing is happening other than returning the cached result from the initial
call.
mb_timeline(2360)
#> 2360
#> $events
#> # A tibble: 21 × 2
#> period details
#> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 2360 Events
#> 2 2360 Quark opens a bar on Terok Nor.
#> 3 2360 Politics
#> 4 2360 Conflicts
#> 5 2360 Kalisi Reyar designs and completes a grid system that watches out for…
#> 6 2360 Federation politics
#> 7 2360 Pahkwa-thanh is admitted into the Federation. [citation needed]
#> 8 2360 Cardassian politics
#> 9 2360 Miras Vara has taken the leadership of the Oralian Way as Astraea; in…
#> 10 2360 Natima Lang and Gaten Russol join the cardassian dissident movement
#> # ℹ 11 more rows
#>
#> $stories
#> # A tibble: 7 × 11
#> title title_url colleciton collection_url section context series date media
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 The Bu… The_Buri… NA NA Chapte… NA The N… 2360 novel
#> 2 Fearfu… Fearful_… NA NA Side 2… NA Deep … 2360 novel
#> 3 The Bu… The_Buri… NA NA Chapte… NA The N… 2360… novel
#> 4 Cataly… Catalyst… NA NA NA NA The L… 2360 novel
#> 5 Lefler… Lefler%2… No Limits No_Limits Twelft… NA New F… 2360… shor…
#> 6 A Stit… A_Stitch… NA NA Part 2… NA Deep … 2360 novel
#> 7 Dawn o… Dawn_of_… Terok Nor Star_Trek:_Te… Prolog… NA Deep … 2360 novel
#> # ℹ 2 more variables: notes <chr>, image_url <chr>
#>
if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
mb_timeline("2360s")
mb_timeline("past")
mb_timeline("future")
mb_timeline("main")
mb_timeline("complete")
mb_timeline("complete", html = TRUE)
} # }