Getting Data to the Client

The first step to updating the Guide database is to get information about what television programming is on what channel at what time. The procedure for this depends on the source of the data. For example, if the data is in a file on the Internet, you can send it over the VBI of a predetermined television channel by using Internet channel broadcasting, if the television channel supports this functionality. The user can then subscribe to the appropriate Internet channel, and the file appears in the designated file directory. Then a loader can read the file and transfer the results into the Guide database.

Many other possible sources of data exist, such as e-mail and World Wide Web pages. You can even write a program that associates VCR Plus codes, used with some VCRs to specify channels and times to be recorded, with show names to make your own custom show. In the sample application Load, the data to load the database is hard-coded into the loader. Hard-coding data into the loader means you can see how the loader works without getting bogged down in the details of a particular source.