Ruby on Rails Web Mashup Projects

In Detail

A web mashup is a new type of web application that uses data and services from one or more external sources to build entirely new and different web applications. Web mashups usually mash up data and services that are available on the Internet, freely, commercially, or through other partnership agreements. The external sources that a mashup uses are known as mashup APIs.

This book shows you how to write web mashups using Ruby on Rails, the new web application development framework. The book has seven real-world projects and each project is described in a methodical step-by-step way, showing how you can write a web mashup from the ground up.

APIs covered in the book

This book covers: Google Maps API, Yahoo geocoding services, Geocoder.us geocoding services, Geocoder.ca geocoding services, Hostip.info, Google Spreadsheet, EditGrid, Clickatell, Interfax, Amazon ECS, Sparklines, Facebook, Indeed, DayLife, Technorati, Futef, WebserviceX Currency Convertor, Weatherbug, Google Bases, Geonames, Flickr, Paypal, Google Calendar, Google Account Authentication, Google Data, and Google Spreadsheet Data.

Use Ruby and Ruby on Rails to create seven practical mashup projects following step-by-step instructions.

Approach

This book is project-based. The format of each project is similar, with a statement of the project, discussion of the main protocols involved, an overview of the API, and then complete code for building the project. You will be led methodically through concrete steps to build the mashup, with asides to explain the theory behind the code.

Who this book is for

This book is for Ruby on Rails developers who want to expand the features of their site by consuming remote external data and services. Basic knowledge of Ruby on Rails programming is required but you need not have any experience of any of the APIs used.