Open AIM Hits a High Note
April 24, 2008Welcome to the launch issue of INSIDE AOL Developer Network, a bi-weekly email newsletter that will give you quick links to the latest developer info on dev.aol.com. You’ll learn how you can use AOL’s Open APIs in your Web development environment, read about creative new Web apps and widgets, and even learn how you can use AOL technologies to bring in revenue. Every two weeks, we’ll send you updated links to informative articles, blogs, news, and podcasts to enhance your developer experience with AOL tools and spark your imagination. Check out what’s going on this week on the AOL Developer Network!
In This Issue
- Open AIM Hits a High Note
- Open AIM Developer Challenge: App Coding for Fun and Prizes!
- Featured Articles
- Blogs for Fun
- Must-Hear Podcasts
Open AIM Hits a High Note
The launch of OpenAIM at the South by SouthWest conference was an international hit! Find out why. Read Greg Cypes' informative launch blog, then explore the API's new features and program updates. Get more information by reading AIM-related blogs and articles, and have fun with AIM Bots.
Open AIM Developer Challenge: App Coding for Fun and Prizes!
To mark the launch of Open AIM 2.0, AOL has teamed up with TopCoder to put the Open AIM APIs in the hands of the best developers in the world. The challenge: to create a fun, functional, and popular widget, mashup, or custom application that uses Open AIM. The reward: one of nine $10,000 prizes or twenty $500 prizes. Are you up for the challenge? Get info on how to participate at the Open AIM Developer Challenge site!
Featured Articles
Why AOL is Web 2.0
by Brice Mason
Most people would classify the term Web 2.0 as a buzzword. Although that label is certainly true, Web 2.0 also represents a core set of guiding principles, a road map to the next generation of web application development. In the first part of this article, I will explain and reveal the meaning and purpose behind this overused and underappreciated term and at the same time demonstrate how AOL has effectively implemented Web 2.0 principles from both the developer and user perspectives. In the second half of this article, I will demonstrate how some of the most popular AOL services work together to produce a cohesive Web 2.0 application that uses PHP and the Ext JS JavaScript framework.
Hi-Country Trips: A Trip Reservation System Using XDSP and Windows Sidebar Gadgets
by Jeff Hanson
AOL's Xdrive Data Service Platform (XDSP) is a web service API based on the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) v1.2 API. Using XDSP, developers can create applications that access the features of Open Xdrive--applications that store data online, retrieve data online, and perform other data-related functions. The Windows Sidebar is an optional panel introduced with the Windows Vista desktop that contains visually small applications known as gadgets, written using HTML, CSS, and/or scripting technologies. In this article, I discuss how you can use the features provided by XDSP within a Windows Sidebar gadget to create a UI that gives users access to the features of XDSP right from their desktop, without launching a secondary application. Using this gadget, "guests" can join outdoor adventure trips, remove themselves from trips, and watch as their trip plans progress to completion, making necessary adjustments along the way.
Blogs for Fun
Eclipse Spaces
by AOL developer guru xxxlucas
Get the skinny on Eclipse Spaces, a project that gives Eclipse users a place to publish and share their Eclipse plug-ins.
AIM on the iPhone
by developer wiz-kid johnfronk
Hot on the heels of the launch of OpenAIM’s new release, iPhone junkies had already developed an AIM application for their favorite toy.
Must-Hear Podcasts
Open AIM
AOL's Bill Burns interviews AIM's Greg Cypes on 3/5/08 about the Open AIM 2.0 launch.