Amazon.com Mashups, Wrox
|
Contents |
C# Online.NET Book Review
Web_2.0 is a phrase used to describe a grab bag of methods and technologies used to create Web based applications which can rival desktop, rich client applications. Mashups are becoming ever more important to Web 2.0 applications. (A mashup refers to a combination of various third part data feeds into a new harmonious feed or presentation.) If you are not yet excited about Web 2.0, you will be after reading this book!
The book begins with an introduction to the mashup concept. Then, comes an introduction to the focus of the book—the Amazon Web Services platform. Finally, the first part of the book is rounded out with a look at other mashable services.
A great variety of corporations are trying to get in on Web 2.0 by providing Application Program Interfaces (APIs) or Web services. Among the early adopters—many of which offer multiple services—are:
- Amazon.com
- Google.com
- Windows Live.com (Microsoft)
- Yahoo.com
- YouTube.com
This book features hands on introductions to these and other mashup services.
The second part of the book introduces various mashup tools—ASP.NET—and technologies—e.g., Ajax, REST, RSS, SOAP, Web Services, XHTML.
The third, and final, part of the book introduces several example mashups which readers can do for themseleves. Also, a complete introduction to Ajax slides into an Ajax-based mashup. The book showcases the author's own mashups, e.g., RoboCast, Zollage, Zuggest. The book even demonstrates how to build a generic interface into the Amazon S3 platform—Simple Storage Service.
The book is a bit of a jarring experience for the reader. Much of it reads like someone's lecture notes or a PowerPoint presentation. Transitions are abrupt. But, partly, this is the price of bringing to market such a topical book so quickly.
All of the source code examples are in the Visual C# and-or ASP.NET languages.
Bottom line
Amazon.com Mashups is a great overview of mashups and introduction to integrating Amazon Web services with other mashable services using a variety of Web 2.0 techniques.
From the back cover
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! Search, Google, eBay 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 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.
About the author(s)
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.
Table of Contents (abbreviated)
- 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.
