A Survey of Web APIs


1
A Survey of Web APIs
CSC 867 Advanced Topic Presentation Charles
OSullivan May 2 2006
2
Outline

• What are Web APIs
• Google
• Google Maps
• del.icio.us
• Amazon E-Commerce Service
• Yahoo Video Search

3
What Are Web APIs

• APIs for internet applications
• Methods or functionality exposed to the developer
  to incorporate an internet applications
  services.
• May be invoked by REST POST or SOAP protocols.

4
What Are Web APIs

• Some APIs have bindings to different languages
• VB.NET
• C
• PHP
• Python
• Perl
• etc.

5
What Are Web APIs

• Some API methods can be accessed directly from
  the address bar e.g http//del.icio.us/api/tags/g
  et
• For some APIs the programmer is restricted to
  program objects e.g. Google Maps
• Allow a developer to incorporate prebuilt web
  functionality into their own web applications.

6
Google

• Programmatically use the Google search engine
• Search requests
• Cache requests
• Spelling requests
• Requires license key (obtained for free).
• Includes SDKs for Java and .NET

7
Google

• From GoogleAPIDemo.java
• package com.google.soap.search
• GoogleSearch s new GoogleSearch()
• s.setKey(clientKey)
• s.setQueryString(directiveArg)
• GoogleSearchResult r s.doSearch()
• System.out.print(r.toString())

8
Google Maps

• Map viewing and manipulation functionality in
  your own web application
• Javascript API (Google Maps employs AJAX)
• Requires free API key

9
Google Maps

• Include the following script in your code
• v2keyabcdefg typetext/javascript
  
• Where abcdefg should be replace with your API
  key
• Example code
• function load()
  
• if (GBrowserIsCompatible())
• var map new GMap2(document.getElementById(map
  ))
• map.setCenter(new GLatLng(37.4419 -122.1419)
  13)

10
del.icio.us

• Del.icio.us is an online shared bookmark manager.
• The API has the folowing methods
• Update - Check to see when a user last posted an
  item.
• Tags - Get a list of tags rename them.
• Posts - Get a list of posts add delete.
• Bundles - Get bundles create and delete.
• All API calls require http-authorization

11
Amazon E-Commerce Service

• Retrieve product information from Amazon
• Retrieve user reviews of products
• Create a remote shopping cart
• Free license
• Uses REST and SOAP

12
Amazon E-Commerce Service

• Perl Example of API using SOAP
• use SOAPLite
• my request_complex_type \SOAPData-value(
• SOAPData-name(Keywords)-value(keywords)
• SOAPData-name(SearchIndex)-value(Books))
  
• my request_complex_type SOAPData-value(
• SOAPData-name(SubscriptionId)
  -value(susbscription_id)
• SOAPData-name(Request)-value(request_compl
  ex_type))

13
Amazon E-Commerce Service

• create new SOAPLite instance
• my aws_handle SOAPLite-service(aws_wsdl)
  
• invoking AWSItemSearch
• aws_handle-ItemSearch(itemsearch_request)
• my som aws_handle-call()

14
Yahoo Video Search

• Search for videos online
• Uses REST
• Require application ID
• Example
• http//api.search.yahoo.com/VideoSearchService/V1/
  videoSearchappidYahooDemoquerymarylinmansonr
  esults2

15
Yahoo Video Search

• - Schema-instance xmlnsurnyahoosrchmv
  xsischemaLocationurnyahoosrchmv
  http//api.search.yahoo.com/VideoSearchService/V1/
  VideoSearchResponse.xsd totalResultsAvailable9
  totalResultsReturned2 firstResultPosition1
  
• -
• Nine Inch Nails Marylin Manson - Gave
  Up
• Music Video - NIN MARYLIN DUO - GOOD
  TUNE !! Entertainment Music Videobloggingry
• http//www.youtube.com/player.swfvideo_id
  SUAk4Sik8zc
• http//www.youtube.com/player.swfvide
  o_idSUAk4Sik8zc
• http//www.youtube.com/w/Nine-Inch-N
  ails--Marylin-Manson---Gave-UpvSUAk4Sik8zcfeat
  ureRandompage5ttfb
• 10235
• flash
• 390
• -
• http//mud.mm-da.yimg.com/image/1643938234/Url
• 124
• 150

16
References

• Gosnell D Professional Development with Web
  APIs Wrox Press (2005)
• Google Web APIs http//www.google.com/apis/
• Google Maps API Documentation http//www.google.c
  om/apis/maps/documentation/
• http//del.icio.us/help/api/
• Video Search Documentation for Yahoo! Search Web
  Services http//developer.yahoo.com/search/video
  /V1/videoSearch.html
• www.programmableweb.com