Scobleizer: Google replaces SOAP API with AJAX one
Umi B
· 3 years ago
Well somebody gotta help me with what Microsoft and Yahoo team is upto against Google on my, on MY, system. My Google toolbar is in war with the Yahoo toolbar that doesn't even show up in my installed software list - the list from where you can uninstall software, the add/remove list I mean, and when I try to remove the Yahoo toolbar, the google toolbar vanishes instead. So If I click on Google, Yahoo toolbar disappears and vice versa. What scamster company Microsoft is turning into. I went to Manage Add Ons on the IE and got rid of Yahoo toolbar for good, but then my google tool is showing up adjacent to the address bar and so small i cannot even see what I am writing in it. Microsoft, don't you guys have anything better to do with all your billions and other resources? Now come on guys, if you wanna beat Google then do it like gentlemen.
Dare Obasanjo
· 3 years ago
This looks like another example of pretty myopic, Microsoft-centric analysis. Sometimes you sound like you still work in B0rg cube.
People seemed to think this about SOAP. It's not. It's about data versus service. They aren't saying they don't believe in SOAP. They are saying they don't believe in providing add free data.
Stephen
· 3 years ago
Interestingly, Google being heavily critiqued on the slashdot thread regarding this move, and slashdotters love Google (though I'm seeing less and less love as time goes on). Google wants to lock everyone into its own API. SOAP is a multi vendor backed standard, works great with PHP and fantastic with ASP.NET. This is Google's lock in strategy.
The other reason that Google is dropping SOAP is that its own api for SOAP was garbage compared with ASP.NET and the various PHP SOAP tools. Google could not compete with other SOAP APIs, so they drop SOAP and hope the industry follows. I don't see it. ASP.NET, for one, is already too prevelant for Google to hope the SOAP vanishes just on their say-so.
I think this says that Google is 100% in on the "web only" world where fat clients don't exist. But I don't see that happening. I think there will always be a need to rollout a fat client for certain tasks. The web is not mature enough to provide 100% fat client functionality in a thin client.
I say this, but I want you to know that 99% of my development is targeted towards web applications. But in doing so I often dumb down my UI's to perform better because the web platform just isn't there yet. And I use the latest tools and frameworks too. And what about those server instances? I have written several SOA based apps that make SOAP calls for data interaction. Do those just not exist in Google's world either?
Michael.NET
· 3 years ago
Oh and Robert, it must drive you nuts that NaiksNews is the second link on that google blog post...especially since you called him out as a Splogger the other day.
blogger@wordpress
· 3 years ago
Doesn't look like they did it because 'they don't care about windows platform'.
Looks like the ROI wasn't good. And, owning some realestate on a third party webpage through a widget adds more value to google.
Tees My Body
· 3 years ago
Sadly, incomplete, it is about SOAP.
Robert Accettura
· 3 years ago
This isn't so much of a move against Windows Apps, but the ability to modify search results with ease. SOAP works just fine with PHP, Perl and other languages.
This is more about not letting third parties modify (and possibly degrade) "Powered By Google" searches.
incomplete
· 3 years ago
> Sadly, incomplete, it is about SOAP.
1. Nobody cares about data formats. SOAP is just as good or bad as anything else. Plus it is already implemented. The reason to change must be compelling. Little API details don't count. 2. They switched to a non-programmatic API that gives ads. They wouldn't do that unless their strategy changed because they changed to something completely different in kind.
brian
· 3 years ago
Ads is the key word there, but even so, I can still manipulate a return from an AJAX call.
ripster
· 3 years ago
"That’s interesting because it’ll hurt Visual Studio developers (VS likes SOAP and WSDL, not AJAX)."
Not sure how you've come to that conclusion, maybe you've never heard of Atlas. Obviously you're a VS expert otherwise you wouldn't be making such statements.
I've been an XML fan and proponent since the early days (SGML anyone?), but more and more I'm moving towards JSON for these types of use cases. It's easier and slimmer, and saves you from having to invent your own markup everytime. Not to mention it's browser (aka AJAX) friendly.
XMLSucks
· 3 years ago
JSON FTW!
Venkatesh
· 3 years ago
Robert,
AJAX API allows you to display max of 8 results on your webpage. Users have to navigate to Google to see more results. You can order the results, but cannot get all of then at one go and further refine the results. These are big limitations. More here
warren
· 3 years ago
Scoble, this is the reality of Second Life, a game you have talked about so much:
Giant floating pulsating cocks put in place by griefers. Second Life, like most online games, will probably be ruined by griefers.
I want you to keep in mind that the reality of Second Life is by and large furries and griefing rather than acting like it's an amazing brave new world.
Of course, this doesn't even touch the issues regarding the fact that Linden dollars are not legally equivalent to real money and their databases are not transactional, creating the opportunity for lossage of real-world money.
Bala
· 3 years ago
My Post is true... hapy about it
Darren Straight
· 3 years ago
Well I for one am not happy in a way with them deciding to stop providing keys for their SOAP API Service.
One of the Modules I've taken at University is Distributed Systems and Networks and well one of the assignments we were going to do consisted of using the Google SOAP API. But as they have decided to stop providing Keys for it our tutor had to tell us that as of yet he hasn’t got an assignment for us thus delaying the time until when we do it.
Hopefully he will find something else similar from another site. Shame really as I was looking forward to doing some work with the SOAP API! :(
Bala
· 3 years ago
I was not happy for Google's move, its about Scobi and his post about API. Read the 5 reasons why Scobileizer post. or google it
arsenalist
· 3 years ago
How is this saying “we don’t care about Windows applications anymore.”??
Osman S Borutecene
· 3 years ago
It is true that this is another defining moment, but I don't agree that this is Google’s way of saying that “we don’t care about Windows applications anymore.”
Instead, it looks like that Google is saying: "I am the standard."
arsenalist
· 3 years ago
Actually all this is "saying" is that we're not going to be using SOAP anymore.
Mike B
· 3 years ago
There seem to be a lot of miunderstanding of what these API's are about. The SOAP API allows a user to get as many search results as they like (say for instance the first 1000 results from a particular search). In addition to search results there is also a spelling suggestion function, essentially the 'Did you mean' that is displayed if you mistype or misspell a search, or enter something that G doesn't recognise. G limit the API usage to 1000 searches a day. The terms of use say that this API is for personal non commercial use. It was probably originally intended for research.
The AJAX API is just for displaying adds.
A lot of people use the SOAP API for semi commercial functions typically many SEO tools use it to determine ranking.
The fact that the so-called SOAP API uses SOAP is largely irrelevant, the issue is that it is much more capable than the AJAX API.
The bottom line is that Google make money by people using the AJAX API, they don't make anything from users of the SOAP API.
Personally I think they are shooting themselves in the foot again, although the SOAP API doesn't make them money it does give visibility and credit, Most users will probably just go to YAHOO! instead. I can make the same comment about G's aggressive search SPAM filters. They do seem to see themselves as the web censor, users who don't like censorship will use YAHOO! instead.
DeviateX
· 3 years ago
Yes Mike B: This change is more like: Google replaces SOAP API with a Banner Ad (with colour scheme options of course).
shavedreviews
· 3 years ago
AJAX API has too many limitations. SOAP API allows you much more freedom.
joern puetz
· 2 years ago
I think this says that Google is 100% in on the “web only” world where fat clients don’t exist. But I don’t see that happening.
All Comments
See http://www.megginson.com/blogs/quoderat/archive... for a more insightful take on the news.
The other reason that Google is dropping SOAP is that its own api for SOAP was garbage compared with ASP.NET and the various PHP SOAP tools. Google could not compete with other SOAP APIs, so they drop SOAP and hope the industry follows. I don't see it. ASP.NET, for one, is already too prevelant for Google to hope the SOAP vanishes just on their say-so.
http://michaeldotnet.blogspot.com/2006/12/is-20...
I say this, but I want you to know that 99% of my development is targeted towards web applications. But in doing so I often dumb down my UI's to perform better because the web platform just isn't there yet. And I use the latest tools and frameworks too. And what about those server instances? I have written several SOA based apps that make SOAP calls for data interaction. Do those just not exist in Google's world either?
Looks like the ROI wasn't good. And, owning some realestate on a third party webpage through a widget adds more value to google.
This is more about not letting third parties modify (and possibly degrade) "Powered By Google" searches.
1. Nobody cares about data formats. SOAP is just as good or bad as anything else. Plus it is already implemented. The reason to change must be compelling. Little API details don't count.
2. They switched to a non-programmatic API that gives ads. They wouldn't do that unless their strategy changed because they changed to something completely different in kind.
Not sure how you've come to that conclusion, maybe you've never heard of Atlas. Obviously you're a VS expert otherwise you wouldn't be making such statements.
http://scripting.wordpress.com/2006/12/20/scrip...
as well as his larger writeup:
http://simonwillison.net/2006/Dec/20/json/
I've been an XML fan and proponent since the early days (SGML anyone?), but more and more I'm moving towards JSON for these types of use cases. It's easier and slimmer, and saves you from having to invent your own markup everytime. Not to mention it's browser (aka AJAX) friendly.
AJAX API allows you to display max of 8 results on your webpage. Users have to navigate to Google to see more results. You can order the results, but cannot get all of then at one go and further refine the results. These are big limitations. More here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExXltE_JVgs&...
Giant floating pulsating cocks put in place by griefers. Second Life, like most online games, will probably be ruined by griefers.
I want you to keep in mind that the reality of Second Life is by and large furries and griefing rather than acting like it's an amazing brave new world.
Of course, this doesn't even touch the issues regarding the fact that Linden dollars are not legally equivalent to real money and their databases are not transactional, creating the opportunity for lossage of real-world money.
One of the Modules I've taken at University is Distributed Systems and Networks and well one of the assignments we were going to do consisted of using the Google SOAP API. But as they have decided to stop providing Keys for it our tutor had to tell us that as of yet he hasn’t got an assignment for us thus delaying the time until when we do it.
Hopefully he will find something else similar from another site. Shame really as I was looking forward to doing some work with the SOAP API! :(
Instead, it looks like that Google is saying: "I am the standard."
The AJAX API is just for displaying adds.
A lot of people use the SOAP API for semi commercial functions typically many SEO tools use it to determine ranking.
The fact that the so-called SOAP API uses SOAP is largely irrelevant, the issue is that it is much more capable than the AJAX API.
The bottom line is that Google make money by people using the AJAX API, they don't make anything from users of the SOAP API.
Personally I think they are shooting themselves in the foot again, although the SOAP API doesn't make them money it does give visibility and credit, Most users will probably just go to YAHOO! instead. I can make the same comment about G's aggressive search SPAM filters. They do seem to see themselves as the web censor, users who don't like censorship will use YAHOO! instead.