Details regarding various list of last_modified

Alex Wong

Hi,

Is there anywhere that I can find details around all the “list” API that uses “last_modified” and “sort_token”? Specifically I'm looking for info on what constitute “change” to that specific listing API.

For example: Fund List API uses sort_token when last_modified is specified. When I add a custom field to a fund on the webview, the last_modified field does NOT get updated (after waiting for 1 hour). Since get fund custom field only “single” fund endpoint is available. I am trying to not run get fund custom field for all my funds but changed fund only. However, if fund last modified does not get updated by adding custom field on webview, it makes this process very difficult.

It is not only Fund list API, but many of the list API is very “blurry” when it comes to what constitute a “change” that changes the “last modified” field. Consittuent List, Gift List, are 2 main one. (i.e. does a Pledge gift last modified get updated when payment is applied to it? payment applied = balance reduced on the pledge gift). Without a good documentation, it makes “incremental” loading of data from RE via API difficult.

Ben Regier

@Alex Wong
From what I've heard from Blackbaud, it sounds like the last_modified dates we see in SKY API are triggered by changes in the underlying database tables. The schema of those tables does not corelate perfectly with the schema of the API, which is what results in some of the blurriness you're describing, where changes that seem like they should mark a record as modified sometimes don't, and sometimes records are marked as modified for seemingly no reason at all.

Like you, I've spent a lot of time trying to reverse-engineer the process to understand which changes will “modify” an underlying record and which will not, and I agree that any documentation Blackbaud could provide would be useful.

Alex Wong

@Ben Regier

Yes, documentation is the only way otherwise this reverse-engineer process each and everyone of us have to do is excessive.

Awaiting for Blackbaud staff's response

Ben Regier

@Alex Wong
I checked the Idea Bank and didn't find any ideas related to this, so I created one.

I'm guessing this is a more complex ask than it might appear from the outside, but it doesn't hurt to put the idea out there so others in our situation can vote for it.

Alex Wong

@Ben Regier
Thank you. Voted!