Saturday, December 20, 2008

OpenSocial now friends with PHP, Java, Ruby, and Python

With more and more containers introducing server-to-server APIs based on the OpenSocial REST and RPC protocols (think MySpace, LinkedIn, Plaxo, orkut, and iGoogle just for starters), it has never been a better time to jump into OpenSocial development. These new protocols allow you to write engaging social applications for these containers using the language of your choice -- JavaScript is no longer the only option.

To help you get started using the OpenSocial REST and RPC protocols, we have assembled a set of client libraries for PHP, Java, Ruby and Python. Each library enables developers to retrieve profile information and persistent data from supporting containers without having to concern themselves with managing network connections, signing requests, or other lower-level details. To check out the code, point your browsers to the Source tab linked from each project's home page:
These libraries are completely open sourced under the Apache 2.0 license, and contributions are not only welcomed but encouraged. In addition to a wiki page explaining the patch submission process, each project hosts an issue tracker which have already been populated with known issues and requested enhancements. These trackers are the best places to start if you're interested in contributing to a particular project. Please report any new bugs or incompatibilities you find along with any feature requests using these trackers and be sure to star those reported by other developers which are significant to your own development also so they can be prioritized effectively.

To help get you started, we have assembled a set of sample applications, linked from the project wiki pages, which you can run directly from the command line or your favorite IDE. As an added bonus, the Ruby and Python libraries have accompanying full-featured sample applications which you can run inside containers supporting the OpenSocial REST protocol. These larger samples are checked in to the Subversion repository under "Samples" and include a bootstrap mechanism for securely retrieving the ID of the current viewer before the core application loads, which you can use as a template for your own container-based applications.

For general questions and commentary, we have set up a discussion group to help build the developer community around the libraries. The original engineers of each library are already members of the group, so feel free to ask the tough questions. :) We will also be hosting a special session of IRC office hours next Monday, December 22 from 1:00 to 3:00 (PST) so you can share your feedback with us directly. The official OpenSocial IRC channel is located at irc://irc.freenode.net/#opensocial.

We're really excited to see the next generation of social applications that the OpenSocial server-to-server APIs enable, and we hope the client libraries ease you along your development journey. Please give the libraries a spin, file any issues you see, and stop by the IRC channel next week to get your questions answered. See you there!


[NFGB] Link - from OpenSocial API Blog
Related From Google Blogs:
OpenSocial meets My Yahoo! with the Yahoo! Application Platform
OpenSocial's birthday wrap-up: it's good to be one
OpenSocial's First Birthday: Detailed Agenda -- November 13 in San Francisco
OpenSocial Foundation: The Election Results Are in!

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