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# I'd like to host contests that read code directly from answers

Here's what I'd like to see in an API to allow me to host coding contests on Code Golf Codidact.

## Essential

This is the only feature I would need in order to start hosting contests.

### The answer content for each answer to a specified question

This allows extracting the code block that constitutes a contest entrant from an answer programmatically, rather than needing to manually paste code into the contest controller each time there is a new answer or an edit to an existing one. This allows anyone to run a tournament in their browser without needing to download or install anything, and without needing to wait for the contest host to update anything.

I can imagine this working in one of two ways:

1. A single API call including the question id, which returns all answers to that post. These could be in the form of a JSON object with answer ids as keys and answer raw text content as values.
1. Two types of API call:
    - First a call including the question id, which returns a list of all the answer ids under that question.
    - Then a call including an answer id, which returns the answer raw text content for that answer.

    This would mean one API call to get the list of answer ids, then one API call for each answer to get its content.

## Nice-to-have optional extras

For me, these are not necessary in order for me to start hosting contests, but I would be likely to use them if they existed.

### The comments on a specified answer

This allows the contest host to add comments to answers that then affect the behaviour of the contest controller. For example, adding a comment containing the word "disqualified" could cause the contest controller to exclude that answer from tournaments.

I can imagine this working in one of two ways:

1. A single API call including the answer id, which returns all comments to that post. These could be in the form of a JSON object with thread ids as keys and thread objects as values, with each thread object having comment ids as keys and comment raw text content as values.
1. Three types of API call:
    - First a call including the answer id, which returns a list of all the thread ids under that answer.
    - Then a call including a thread id, which returns the thread title and a list of all the comment ids under that thread[^1].
    - Then a call including a comment id, which returns the raw text content for that comment.

    This would mean one API call to get the list of thread ids, then one API call for each thread to get the list of comment ids, then one API call for each comment to get its content.

### The edit history of a specified answer

This would allow specifying a date in the contest controller, and running a tournament with the answers as they were at that date. This could be interesting for contests where the answers evolved over time and watching a tournament play out with the latest versions only tells half the story. It would also allow showing a chart of different answers rising and falling over time, rather than just a final leaderboard.

I can imagine this working in one of two ways:

1. A single API call including the post id, which returns all versions of that post. These could be in the form of a JSON object with version ids as keys and post raw text content as values.
1. Two types of API call:
    - First a call including the post id, which returns a list of all the version ids in the edit history.
    - Then a call including a version id, which returns the raw text content for that version of the post[^2].

    This would mean one API call to get the list of version ids, then one API call for each version to get its content.

[^1]: Would this be better split into two calls - one for the title and one for the comment ids?

[^2]: For me, the content for that version is what is required, but for other purposes it might be useful to have the before and after comparison as shown in the user interface. Should this be split into two separate API calls?