This past week 30 new mashups were added to our mashup directory and 23 different APIs were used to build them. Some of the newer or less frequently seen APIs include BookingMarkets, InfoChimps Datasets, Nexmo Wholesale SMS and Producteev. The most often used APIs this week are Google Maps, Twilio and Twilio SMS. And the most commonly used types of APIs were Photos (6 APIs, 7 mashups), Social (4 APIs, 10 mashups) and Messaging (2 APIs, 6 mashups). The list below shows which APIs were used by which mashups:
NoSQL databases are all the rage these days. We recently discussed moving from MySQL to MongoDB within hours. The rise of NoSQL is often associated with the need to not just store large amounts of data but also to visualize relationships between the various objects in the database. InfiniteGraph has released its InfiniteGraph API to Java developers to use its NoSQL graph database. The company also launched a developer contest.
First, a close friend loses everything in a house fire. Not long after, close family members are rocked when a flood destroys their belongings. What can be done in the face of tragedy and loss? For the noble minded the only thing to do is to work to better prepare your friends and neighbors for the next catastrophe to strike. This was the story told by Jennifer Morehead, CEO and founder of Lockboxer, a site to track your stuff that makes a refreshing use of shopping APIs to find out how much your stuff is worth.
MyBantu is an interesting little mashup, available as an iPhone app, an Android app, and a website. Its goal is to make shopping for anything, especially restaurants and movies, easier and more social. It uses Yelp API, Netflix API and various others to make it happen. It’s very similar in idea to Siri, the “ultimate mashup” that Apple later gobbled up in the largest mashup acquisition ever.
RunKeeper, a maker of health and fitness tracking software, has made its Health Graph API available to the public after a closed beta with a small group of developers. The new API provides access to RunKeeper Health Graph — a system of individual health connections that create digital map of an individual’s personal health. The Health Graph provides a record of the evolution of an individual’s health, including a snapshot of their current physical condition, how this has evolved over time, and how social interactions may have influenced activities and behaviors.
Publisher Pearson recently launched its new API program with three of its top titles. The new platform provides a common set of tools that developers have grown accustomed to: documentation, sample code, app showcase, blog, forum and FAQs, for example. Pearson has a lot of content to pick from with its core offerings, as well as its numerous partners, and they decided to start by launching three very different content APIs: FT Press API, Longman Dictionary API and Eyewitness Guide to London API.
We see a lot of APIs. Our directory lists over 3,500 APIs, with dozens of new ones added every week. If you’re a developer, you probably see a lot of APIs, too. Like us, you probably know a good one when you see it, but we’d like to be able to help you identify the developer-friendly APIs and pick them out of the crowded pack. That’s where our “three Cs” come in and where we could use your help refining this system of API evaluation.
Augmented Reality has made a lot of progress in the last few years. Companies have pushed the envelope to bring us experiences that we thought existed only in fiction. If AR interests you and you have the skills to implement a unique experience that brings together the physical and digital worlds, then check out the the Layar API and consider entering its contest to showcase your experience to millions of users across the world.
As a developer, good ways to store those often-reused snippets of code that correctly solve a common problem is always useful. Now, there are other solutions to this problem, such as the Snipt API, which I covered previously, but Pastebin.com is the most often used, perhaps because it has beeb the favored place for notes from hacker group LulzSec. Pastebin has a nice, full-featured API, and is simple and free to use, at least at a basic level.
Rumblefish, champion of what is good and just and legally musical, will help you change your tune for the better. This company has produced a music licensing API so that you can add copyrighted songs to your YouTube videos. Of course the concept can be applied more widely and liberally. Rumblefish has even devised custom license ‘portals’ that present licensing options based on the intended use of the music. This implies that the agreement and cost of licensing a track could be more expensive depending on where and how it is used.
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