Professional Web APIs: Google, eBay, Amazon.Com, MapPoint, FedEx

Web APIs are sets of application programming interfaces that allow programmers to write applications that use services offered by third parties. At long last, you can now integrate the power of Web APIs from leading technology companies such as Google, eBay, PayPal, Amazon, MapPoint, UPS, and FedEx in your own applications.

Covering the most popular Web APIs in a single resource for the first time, this book details the nuts-and-bolts of each and then offers numerous examples of how to use them in real-world situations. By the end of the book you’ll have built two fully functional applications – one a Windows program, and the other a Web application.

What you will learn from this book

• The anatomy of the featured APIs
• Calling Web APIs using HTTP-POST, HTTP-GET, and SOAP over HTTP
• Ways to use popular Web APIs from Microsoft Office and mobile devices
• How to use multiple APIs together
• Creative ways to use APIs
• Examples of how third parties have used the featured Web APIs
• How Web APIs can be used for professional application development
• How to create your own Web API

Who this book is for

This book is for programmers who want to use Web APIs to build their own applications. No prior experience with Web APIs is required.

About the Author

Denise Gosnell is a software attorney with Woodard, Emhardt, Moriarty, McNett & Henry LLP, a worldwide intellectualproperty law firm based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Denise has a unique background in both technology and law, and presently uses her deep technical and legal expertise to counsel hightech clients on intellectual property and technical matters.

Denise has over ten years of experience creating software applications, ranging from standalone and client-server to enterprisewide applications. Denise has worked for leading software companies, such as Microsoft and EDS, and has earned a worldwide reputation for her technology expertise. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science - Business (summa cum laude) from Anderson University, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis.

Denise has coauthored six other software development books to date: Beginning Access 2003 VBA (Wiley Publishing, Inc.), Visual Basic .NET and SQL Server 2000: Building An Effective Data Layer (Wrox Press), Beginning Visual Basic.NET Databases (Wrox Press), Professional .NET Framework (Wrox Press), Professional SQL Server 2000 (Wrox Press), and MSDE Bible (IDG Books). Denise was a featured technology speaker at the Microsoft European Professional Developer's Conference in December 2001 and has on numerous occasions assisted Microsoft's Training and Certification group in creating new exams for their MCSD and MCSE certifications. She herself holds the MCSD certification.