• Author:
  • Shanahan, Francis
• Subject:
  Computer Programming / Software Development
• Published by:
  John Wiley & Sons Inc (US)
• Published:
  15/12/2006
• Price:
  $44.99
• <  Buy this book  >

"This book will not only demonstrate how developers can utilize Amazon Web services to create cool mashups but will also help them convert it to money-making mashups - 'cashups.'"
—Jinesh Varia, Amazon Web Services Developer Relations Team

Amazon.com is advancing the boundaries of the Internet through their powerful suite of web services. Innovative developers are combining Amazon data with other freely available sources to create new and interesting applications known as Mashups. This book teaches you the techniques behind mashup applications and for the first time shows you how to build them yourself.

The examples in this book show you how to integrate Amazon web services with APIs from Yahoo!, eBay, Google and YouTube. You'll learn how to combine data from disparate sources to create new applications using next generation browser techniques such as AJAX, JSON and Dynamic Scripting. You will learn how to re-purpose web service data so that it can be consumed from mobile devices such as a cell phone or PDA. Because both the theory and code are explained, you'll be able to easily take the lessons in this book to build your own killer mashup applications.

Expert web services developer Francis Shanahan guides you through the basics of web service consumption using XML, SOAP and REST. Next generation browser techniques such as AJAX are illustrated in easy to follow step by step examples. He also completes the picture by introducing advanced techniques to enhance performance such as the multi-threading web service features of ASP.NET 2.0.

With this book, you'll discover how to:

• Build a generic AJAX library from the ground up
• Consume publicly available APIs such as Yahoo!(r) Search, Google(r), eBay(r) and YouTube
• Use SOAP to expose Amazon data as RSS
• Convert Amazon data directly into JSON using XSLT
• Plot Amazon.com customers on Yahoo Maps
• Use the OpenSearch API to build your own search service
• Access Amazon data from your cell phone using WML

Who this book is for

This book is for developers who have some prior experience with web technologies such as Javascript(r) and ASP.NET. This book covers a wide range of technologies and techniques including ASP.NET 2.0, WML, REST, RSS, SOAP, XML, XSLT, AJAX and JSON. Everything in the book is built using free tools and explained in detail, along with the source code which makes this a useful resource regardless of experience level.

Francis Shanahan is a senior software architect with more than ten years of industry experience. He bought his first computer when he was 12 years old (an Atari 130XE) with money saved from a summer job. Within a month, he had written his first game. He specializes in new and emerging technologies in the areas of Web services, the user interface, and digital identity. Most recent examples are the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), and CardSpace. He has led several multimillion dollar engagements of Fortune 50 companies through the full project life cycle. He has published numerous articles in both paper and online media, including Microsoft's MSDN Web site. When he's not building prototypes and messing around aimlessly on the computer, he enjoys cutting dove tails, the pentatonic scale, crystal oscillators, breaking 100 with his Callaway, and spending time with his family. You can contact Francis or read his blog at http://www.Francisshanahan.com.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

Part I: A Brave New Web.

Chapter 1. Web 2.0.

 Chapter 2. The Amazon Web Service Platform.

Chapter 3. Other Mashable Services.

Part II Get Ready to Mash.

Chapter 4. Development Tools.

Chapter 5. The Technology.

Chapter 6. Mashup Techniques.

Chapter 7. Creating Your First Remix.

Part III The Mashups.

Chapter 8. Building Your First Mashup.

Chapter 9. Putting the Browser to Work.

Chapter 10. An Ajax-Powered Wish List.

Chapter 11. Let's Eat!

Chapter 12. A Customer Browser Using JSON.

Chapter 13. Improving Performance.

Chapter 14. Amazon Mobile.

Chapter 15. A Generic Storage Solution Using Amazon S3.

Chapter 16. Further Ideas.

Appendix A. The E-Commerce Service FAQ.

Appendix B. Exercise Answers.

Index.