Glossary A–ZLetter L
Live data
Live data consists of values that are fetched continuously from an external source and updated on screen without an editor's involvement, such as weather, departure times, room bookings, waiting numbers, prices or production figures.
“Live” here usually means at intervals of seconds to minutes.
Live data turns screens into information points. A foyer screen shows the weather and the next departures alongside the welcome message, a factory floor screen shows the shift's output, a waiting area the current number. Technically, the player or the management system queries the source at fixed intervals or is sent changes, and inserts the values into a template or widget.
For every live source, operators should decide what happens if it fails: show the last value with a timestamp, hide the area or display a notice. A value that has silently been stuck for hours looks current but is not. The polling interval also needs thought; too frequent queries put a load on the source and the connection, too infrequent ones make the display sluggish.