API and UI mismatch

[DanielLim]

Has anyone encountered a mismatch in the data one sees via the Canvas UI and the data one fetches via the Canvas API? I'm trying get the due dates of assignments in a course and am finding, via the API, that one of the assignments has no due date (None). But when I look up this assignment via the Canvas UI (*.instructure.com/courses/1664/assignments/192706) there's a due date.

Is this a syncing issue? Shouldn't the UI and the API extract data from the same source?

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @DanielLim,

I wonder if perhaps "overrides" are coming into play here?  Those are where the due date varies by section/user/etc, and are retrieved via API at /api/v1/courses/:course_id/assignments/:assignment_id/overrides.  Aside from that nuance around the dates, I don't think I've come across a scenario where the API and the UI have a total mismatch.

-Chris

[DanielLim]

Thank you for this! I found an override on this assignment that specifies a date. Very satisfying to have a clear answer.

Why do I feel like learning the ins and outs of canvas is endless?!

[chriscas]

I'm not sure that there's ever an end to Canvas knowledge!  We've been using Canvas for 10 years at my institution, and even though I consider myself very knowledgable in a lot of Canvas areas, I still learn quite a bit form the community here.  I'm more and more comfortable and knowledgable about the REST API than I was a few years ago, but there are other things like Canvas Data, and GraphQL that I have very little knowledge of at this point, and unfortunately don't have a ton of free time to learn.  Hopefully I'll pick things up little by little here in the next few years!

I'm always glad to help out where I can, as I know others will do the same when I get stuck too.

-Chris