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02-steam-data-sample

README.md

📂 Phase 02: Steam Data Sample

This phase documents the collection of a 100-game sample dataset that served as the foundation for schema design and data quality assessment. The session implemented production-ready collection infrastructure with error handling, progress tracking, and periodic saves ensuring reliable data acquisition from the Steam Web API.

Overview

Phase 02 transformed API exploration insights from Phase 01 into operational collection infrastructure. The implemented script demonstrates robust error handling, rate limiting compliance, and data preservation patterns that would later scale to the full 240K+ application dataset. This 100-game sample provided sufficient diversity to identify all major data structures, edge cases, and quality patterns essential for PostgreSQL schema design.

📋 Directory Contents

This section provides systematic navigation to all files in this phase directory.

Key Documents

Document Purpose Link
phase-02-worklog-steam-data-sample.md Complete session log documenting sample collection implementation and findings phase-02-worklog-steam-data-sample.md

Scripts

Script Purpose Link
get_steam_data_sample.py Production collection script with error handling and progress tracking get_steam_data_sample.py

Configuration Files

File Purpose Link
.env.example Template for Steam API key and collection parameters .env.example

🗂️ Repository Structure

Visual representation of this phase's organization:

02-steam-data-sample/
├── 📋 phase-02-worklog-steam-data-sample.md     # Session log
├── 🐍 get_steam_data_sample.py                  # Collection script
├── 📄 .env.example                              # Configuration template
└── 📂 README.md                                 # This file

File Descriptions:

🔗 Related Categories

This section establishes connections to related project phases and documentation.

Category Relationship Documentation
Phase 01: Foundations Provides API insights and rate limiting parameters used in collection script ../01-dataset-foundations/README.md
Phase 03: Schema Analysis Analyzes this sample dataset to design PostgreSQL schema ../03-analyze-steam-data-sample/README.md
Steam API Methodology Documents collection patterns established in this phase ../../docs/methodologies/steam-api-collection.md

Phase Highlights

Collection Results

  • Sample Size: 100 successful game records from 179 API calls (56% success rate)
  • Data Volume: Comprehensive metadata including descriptions, pricing, reviews, and media assets
  • Quality Validation: Diverse content types (games, DLC, demos, videos, software) represented in sample
  • Infrastructure: Production-ready collection script with error recovery and progress tracking

Technical Achievements

  • Implemented periodic save mechanism (every 25 records) preventing data loss from API failures
  • Robust error handling with detailed logging for success/failure pattern analysis
  • Rate limiting compliance with 1.5-second delays maintaining sustainable API usage
  • JSON output format preserving complete API response structures for analysis

Getting Started

For users exploring Phase 02:

  1. Start Here: phase-02-worklog-steam-data-sample.md - Read complete session log for collection insights
  2. Collection Script: get_steam_data_sample.py - Review production collection infrastructure (requires Steam API key)
  3. Next Phase: Phase 03: Schema Analysis - See how sample data informed database design
  4. Previous Phase: Phase 01: Foundations - Understand API exploration that preceded collection

Document Information

Field Value
Author VintageDon - https://github.com/vintagedon
Created 2025-10-06
Last Updated 2025-10-06
Version 1.0

Tags: phase-02, sample-collection, data-infrastructure, steam-api, json-storage, error-handling