IronPython and LiveFX: Accessing Profiles

I recently got access to both the Windows Azure and Live Framework CTP programs. Frankly, I’m very interested in Live Mesh, so I decided to start with a simple LiveFX program. Scott (aka ScottIsAFool) at LiveSide posted a “quick and dirty” console app that pulls info from a user’s profile via LiveFx. It’s not Mesh per se, but it does use the same framework and resource model so I decided to port it to IronPython. FYI, this app won’t run unless you’ve been received a LiveFx CTP token and provisioned yourself.

#Add LiveFX References

import sys
sys.path.append('C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Live Framework SDK\v0.9\Libraries\.Net Library')

import clr
clr.AddReference('Microsoft.LiveFX.Client')
clr.AddReference('Microsoft.LiveFX.ResourceModel')

from Microsoft.LiveFX.Client import LiveOperatingEnvironment
from Microsoft.LiveFX.ResourceModel.ProfileResource import ProfileType
from System.Net import NetworkCredential

from devhawk import linq

#get username and password from the user

uid = raw_input("Enter Windows Live ID: ")
pwd = raw_input("Enter Password: ")
creds = NetworkCredential(uid, pwd, "https://user-ctp.windows.net")

#print out user's info

loe = LiveOperatingEnvironment()
loe.Connect(creds)

general = linq.Single(loe.Profiles.Entries,  
  lambda e: e.Resource.Type == ProfileType.General)

print loe.Mesh.ProvisionedUser.Name     
print loe.Mesh.ProvisionedUser.Email
print general.Resource.ProfileInfo.PersonalStatusMessage
print linq.Count(loe.Contacts.Entries)

I did modify the app slightly, reading the WLID and password off the console – I was sure I would accidently post my personal credentials if I left them embedded in the app. Otherwise, it’s a straight port. First, I add references the LiveFX dlls. Since they’re not local to my script, I add the directory where they’re installed to sys.path, which lets me call clr.AddReference directly. Then I retrieve the user’s ID and password using raw_input (Python’s equivalent to Console.ReadLine). Finally, I connect to the user’s LiveOperatingEnvironment and pull their name, email address, personal status message and the number of contacts they have.

As per the original app, I use LINQ to find the right profile as well as count the number of contacts. I was able to reuse the linq.py file I wrote for my Rock Band song list screen scraper (though I did have to add the Count function since I hadn’t needed it previously). I’ve posted this script on my SkyDrive, and it includes my most recent linq.py file.

BTW, it doesn’t appear that you can set the PersonalStatusMessage programmatically, at least not currently. I was thinking it would be cool to build an app that sets your PSM via Twitter, but the set method of PersonalStatusMessage is marked internal. In fact, all the set methods of all the profile properties I looked at are marked internal. If someone knows how to update LiveFX resource objects in the current CTP, I’d appreciate it if you dropped me a line or left me a comment.