Pro Web 2.0 Mashups: Remixing Data and Web Services (Expert's Voice in Web Development) Review

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Pro Web 2.0 Mashups: Remixing Data and Web Services (Expert's Voice in Web Development) ReviewKudos to the author and publisher for this release.
This book is a tour de force of the subject of Mashups.
I was looking for a good book on this subject so that I could introduce it to students as part of an extra-curricular technology program in NYC and this book is perfect.
In a sentence, Mashups are created by taking data from one or more sources and making something new and useful from them.
In my opinion, the subject is very important because there is a vast amount of data that is available now. Today the challenge is not just finding data but putting to use. This book shows you how to do that.
The author's writing style is excellent, mixing theory and applications. The book is filled with hands on examples as well as references for research in each of the areas.
I believe that this book can be read by anyone interested in the subject, regardless of their technical background. For those that want to create Mashups without programming, this book shows you how. For those that want to delve into programming, everything that you need is covered including AJAX, PHP, various data formats and how to parse them, various Javascript libraries and more.
The book is laid out in four parts:
1. Remixing Information Without Programming
As the title suggests, the chapters in this section require no previous programming experience. The author walks through some specific examples, introduces terminology and analyzes how sites like Flickr and del.icio.us work so that you can get the most out of them. Tools such as Yahoo! Pipes (a browser-based visual application for Mashups and Remixing) are explored. Following along with the discussion the reader can put together a Mashup or Remix by simply understanding the concepts and using tools, but not having to delve into coding.
2. Remixing a Single Web Application Using Its API
For the person who wants to code, this part of the book jumps right in discussing the Flickr API, PHP usage, XML processing and more. From there the discussion moves to other APIs and using AJAX/Javascript widgets.
3. Making Mashups
This section starts by delving into the ProgrammableWeb website. Showing how to find what resources are available, studying existing Mashups via which APIs they use and how to go about creating new ones. From there XMLHttpRequest and Javascript libraries such as YUI are covered and a step-by-step example is given using the previously discussed techniques. Lastly, the author addresses issues around implementing Mashups on your site including standards, accessibility and your own API. I was glad to see these topics covered as sometimes in the haste of getting something online, they can be overlooked.
4. Exploring Other Mashup Topics
This final section of the book covers a large range of interesting topics such as Map-based Mashups, Social Bookmarking, Calendars, Online Storage, Desktop and Office Suites, Embeddable Data Formats and Searches.
As you can see, there's a lot of information covered in this book. In my opinion, everything that one could want on the subject and written in such a way that you want to keep reading, exploring and creating your own Mashups.
I highly recommend this book - so far, it has been my favorite read of 2008!Pro Web 2.0 Mashups: Remixing Data and Web Services (Expert's Voice in Web Development) OverviewMashups are hugely popular right now, a very important topic within the general area of Web 2.0, involving technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, Ajax, APIs, libraries, and server-side languages (such as PHP and ASP.NET.) This book aims to be the definitive tome on Mashup development, to stand in the middle of all the other, more API specific books coming out on Google Maps, Flickr, etc.The book shows you how to create real world Mashups using all the most poplar APIs, such as Google Maps, Flickr, Amazon Web Services, and delicious, and includes examples in multiple different server-side languages, such as PHP, Java, and .NET. It will have a large target audience, but still deliver an effective and engaging learning experience, regardless of the specific technologies the reader prefers to use.

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The KML Handbook: Geographic Visualization for the Web Review

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The KML Handbook: Geographic Visualization for the Web ReviewJust received my copy today and spent the afternoon pouring through it. In summary it is an excellent summary of KML and will appeal to both novice and professionals.
This is a step by step guide to writing and using KML programming language to produce enhanced graphics as overlays onto web based mapping programs such as Google Earth. But since KML is an open standard it can be used with almost any geographic program that supports it (such as Microsoft Virtual Earth, ArcGIS, EarthBrowser, etc.).
It has been a long time since a did any programing and I was worried that this book would be over my head, but it is not. It provides step by step directions with excellent colour screen shots to progressively walk the reader through several real world mashups using Google Earth. KML is based on the XML language but you do NOT need to know anything about programming in order to pick up this book and learn how to write and use KML code. Since KML is platform independent this book will be useful if you use PC, Mac or Linux.
Finally there is a website that has examples and KML scripts for downloading (to save some typing). I especially appreciate Appendix A which is a reference for the syntax of all of the KML commands.
In addition to this book, Google's website has a lot of information, examples and practice scripts on KML and how to use it with both Google Earth and Google Maps. If you are just interested in seeing what KML is and how it is used that would be the first place to go as it is FREE. If you like what you see and want to learn more this is THE reference/guide for KML.
EricThe KML Handbook: Geographic Visualization for the Web Overview"The way the information is presented appeals to teachers, hobbyists, web designers—anyone looking for a way to enhance their content by using customized maps."—Warren Kelly, Pastor"It could become the de-facto tutorial volume for the subject, as well as the classic reference guide."—Thomas Duff, Lead Developer"This book is written so well and is so easy to follow it's a joy to go through."— Daniel McKinnon, Software Engineer KML began as the file format for Google Earth, but it has evolved into a full-fledged international standard for describing any geographic content—the "HTML of geography." It's already supported by applications ranging from Microsoft Virtual Earth and NASA WorldWind to Photoshop and AutoCAD. You can do amazing things with KML, and this book will show you how, using practical examples drawn from today's best online mapping applications.Drawing on her extensive experience with the creators of KML, Wernecke teaches techniques that can be used by everyone from programmers to real estate agents, scientists, students, architects, virtual explorers, and more. Highlights includeIncorporating rich content in Placemark balloons Creating overlays that superimpose your images on standard Earth browsers Generating animations that move through Placemarks, Overlays, and Models Controlling and updating map content across the Web Managing large data sets using regions and custom data types Complete KML language reference: elements, types, syntax, file structure, and conventions

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