Frontlistiest

PenguinRandomHouse.com Representative Edition Logic (aka Frontlistiest) are the rules that the API uses to order editions (i.e. ISBNs) within a work.

Purpose

Works are simply collections of ISBNs (Titles) and do not themselves have cover images. Therefore it is necessary to select a particular ISBN to represent that work when it is displayed in a listing(see Works and ISBNs for more information). That ISBN is called "frontlistiest". The intention is to display the edition of the work that is currently receiving the most marketing promotion.

Further, all ISBNs of a Work are sequenced to determine how they should be ordered when being listed as part of a product detail. This ordering is called "frontlistiest sequence".

Logic

The logic is to sort by Format Family first and then by date. This is the preference order of the Format Families:

1. Paperback or Hardcover
2. eBook
3. Board Book
4. Boxed Set
5. Audio
6. App
7. Merchandise

Titles that have an on sale of 8 weeks out or older take precedence over those titles that go on sale more than 8 weeks out into the future. The goal is to surface the most recently published title first. So in the cases where the Hardcover publishes after the Paperback and once it meets the 8 weeks out requirement, the Hardcover takes over as Frontlistiest.In the case where the Paperback publishes after the Hardcover, once the Paperback meets the 8 weeks out requirement, it takes over as Frontlistiest.

 If multiple editions within a given Format Family have matching on sale dates, the price is the determining factor. The edition with the higher price point is the Frontlistiest, UNLESS that edition is Large Print or Premium (PREM, see below).

 (The only time a Large Print or Premium editions would be Frontlistiest is if they were the only formats available for the Title Family.)

 If multiple editions within a given Format Family have matching on sales and matching price, preference can be random.

 If any of the editions within a given Format Family is a Library Binding Edition code is LB (Version/Edition), do not show as Frontlistiest unless it is the only ISBN associated with that WorkID.

 PRHPS titles should show up at the bottom of the list for a format, and only be considered Frontlistiest when there are no other ISBNs associated with that WorkID.

Logic summary

Sequence titles in a work in this order:

1. English vs. other language
2. Price <= $150
3. Not 3pd customer
4. Not Library Binding Edition
5. Not Large print
6. Onsaledate is within next 8 weeks
7. Hardcover or paperback format
8. Format family ordering (see above)
9. Onsaledate (descending)
10. US Price (descending)

Appearance

The frontlistiest sequence appears in various parts of the API.

Optional element

Title objects (i.e. ISBNs) have a frontlistiestSeq attribute that is only returned in the context of a particular work and a particular domain. Whenever a title is returned and both a workId and domain are present, you will see the frontlistiestSeq in the representation.

/domains/PRH.US/works/258951/titles

        "isbn": 9780399565298,
        "isbnHyphenated": "978-0-399-56529-8",
        "title": "Grey",
        "subtitle": "Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian",
        ...
        "workId": 258951,
        "frontlistiestSeq": 3,

Sorting

You can order ISBNs by their frontlistiest sequence using the frontlistiest sort value. This is most commonly needed when listing the Titles of a particular Work.

/domains/PRH.US/works/258951/titles?sort=frontlistiest

If you inspect the results, you will see that the ISBNs are returned in the order of their frontlistiestSeq element.

Work product display view

The work product display view returns the ISBNs of a work in format map. Within each format, the ISBNs are listed in their frontlistiest order. In addition, an element named frontlistiestTitle contains a copy of the Title record that has frontlistiestSeq=1.

/domains/PRH.US/works/258951/views/product-display

    "frontlistiestTitle": {
      "workId": 258951,
      "isbn": 9781101946343,
      "title": "Grey",
      "subtitle": "Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian",
      "imprint": {
        "code": "V2",
        "name": "Vintage",
        "family": null
      },
      "onSaleDate": {
        "date": "2015-06-18",
        "timezone_type": 3,
        "timezone": "UTC"
      },
      "totalPages": 576,
      "trimSize": "5-3\/16 x 8",
      "ageRange": {
        "low": 0,
        "high": 0,
        "code": null,
        "description": null
      },
      "audioLength": null,
      "usPrice": 15.95,
      "format": {
        "code": "TR",
        "name": "Paperback",
        "subcode": null,
        "family": "Paperback"
      },
      "hasInsight": false,
      "hasExcerpt": false,
      "hasAudioExcerpt": false,
      "bestseller": true,
      "textExcerpt": null,
      "teachersGuide": null,
      "hasTeachersGuidePdf": false,
      "excerptRelatedLinks": {
        
      },
      "contributors": {
        "010-1001": {
          "id": 163826,
          "display": "E L James",
          "roleCode": "A",
          "roleName": "Author",
          "ontour": false,
          "spotlight": "<p><b><b>E L James<\/b><\/b>&#160;is a former TV executive, wife, and mother of two based in the leafy suburbs of West London. Beginning in January 2012 her life took an extraordinary turn with the runaway success of her novels, the Fifty Shades Trilogy. Since early childhood she dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, and now, thanks to millions of readers around the world, that dream has come true. She is currently at work on her next novel, another adult, provocative romance.<\/p>",
          "seoFriendlyUrl": "\/authors\/163826\/e-l-james",
          "attr": 1001,
          "firstInitial": "E",
          "lastInitial": "J"
        }
      },
      "seoFriendlyUrl": "\/books\/258951\/grey-by-e-l-james",
      "series": {
        "code": "FS3",
        "title": "Fifty Shades of Grey Series",
        "description": null,
        "seriesEditVolNo": null,
        "seriesCount": 20,
        "seoFriendlyUrl": "\/series\/FS3\/fifty-shades-of-grey-series"
      },
      "division": {
        "code": "73",
        "description": "Knopf"
      },
      "categories": [
        {
          "catId": 2000000035,
          "catDesc": "Contemporary Romance",
          "catUri": "\/contemporary-romance",
          "menuText": "Contemporary ",
          "leafNode": true,
          "deepestNode": true,
          "seq": 1
        },
        {
          "catId": 2000000057,
          "catDesc": "Fiction",
          "catUri": "\/fiction",
          "menuText": "Fiction",
          "leafNode": false,
          "deepestNode": false,
          "seq": 0
        },
        {
          "catId": 2000000131,
          "catDesc": "Romance",
          "catUri": "\/romance",
          "menuText": "Romance",
          "leafNode": false,
          "deepestNode": false,
          "seq": 0
        }
      ],
      "aboutTheBook": "<b>See the world of <i>Fifty Shades of Grey<\/i> anew through the eyes of Christian Grey.<\/b><br> <b><br>In Christian's own words, and through his thoughts, reflections, and dreams, E L James offers a fresh perspective on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the world.<\/b><br><br>Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty&mdash;until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair.&#160;He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist.&#160;Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him&mdash;past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian&rsquo;s cold,&#160;wounded heart.&#160;&#160;<br><br>Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?<br><br><br>This book is intended for mature audiences.",
      "bonusFeature": null,
      "hasCoverImage": true,
      "frontlistiestSeq": 1,
      "hasBestseller": true
    },