Google has an API for their personalized homepage, and of course it is really easy to consume. It is an XML file with a place for HTML / Javascript. I created a striped down version of Where's Tim using their API. To install this module on your homepage, click here.
Google provided a method for asynchronously downloading data, _IG_FetchContent (which I talked about the other day). To consume this method, you provide the datasource and the function you wish to call after the data is downloaded:
function getData()
{
_IG_FetchContent('http://engraph.com/mydatasource.xml'), function (responseText)
{
myFunctionThatDoesSomething(responseText);
});
}
Google also provides a way to use the Google Map API without having a key. Just use code like this:
<div id="map__MODULE_ID__" style="width: 100%; height: 100%"></div>
<script src="http://maps.google.com/maps?file=js" type="text/javascript">
var map;
map = new GMap(document.getElementById("map__MODULE_ID__"));
map.addControl(new GSmallMapControl());
All in all, it's a great way to display data, without having a user go to your website. In fact, we might do something like this for
EnGraph, where our clients can see version history or updates that are coming soon.
[Where's Tim] [Google Maps] [EnGraph]