Flickr Mashups

Why wait for Flickr to offer the features and functionality that you need when you can create them on your own Expert Flickr developer David Wilkinson guides you step-by-step through a series of software projects that show you how to build mashups using this popular photo service. He clearly explains the process of remixing Flickr on your own web site and then mashing it up. Along the way, you'll learn how to take advantage of mashup technologies such as REST, Ajax, RSS, and JSON.

From finding photographs and illustrating news feeds to displaying your photos on Google(R) Maps, you'll discover how to develop a wide range of projects using content from both Flickr and other sources. You'll also gain the skills to design a variety of remixes and mashups that take advantage of Flickr's core services. With the help of numerous hands-on examples integrated throughout the pages, you'll understand how things work so you can quickly produce your own innovative applications.

What you will learn from this book: How to use feeds to retrieve photo detailsMethods for using the Flickr API to access items such as tags, sets, groups, and interestingnessHow to use Flickr authentication to access private photos and update informationHow to upload photos from your own applicationsWays to remix the Flickr web site with Firefox(R) and GreasemonkeyDifferent ways to display photos using ImageMagickTechniques for building complex systems that use Flickr as a source of informationTips for improving software performance and scalability

Who this book is for

This book is for web developers who have some prior experience with a language such as PHP, JavaScript, or Perl. Everything in the book is explained in detail along with source code, which makes this a useful resource regardless of your experience level.

Launched in 2004, Flickr has become one of the top photo-sharing sites on the Internet. In this guide for programmers, Wilkinson describes a variety of ways to build Flickr "mashups"--software that interacts in some way with Flickr. Hands-on examples and exercises allow readers to test their skills. Full answers are provided in the appendix. All of the software used in the book is cross- platform. Wilkinson is a freelance technical consultant and programmer. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Expert Flickr developer David Wilkinson guides you through a series of software projects that show you how to build mashups using the popular photo service Flickr. He explains the process of remixing Flickr on your own web site and then mashing it up. Along the way, you’ll learn how to take advantage of mashup technologies such as REST, Ajax, RSS, and JSON. Plus, hands-on examples will help you gain the skills to design a variety of remixes and mashups that take advantage of Flickr’s core services.

Wrox’ s Beginning Flickr Mashups is one of the first books available that teaches web developers how to build innovative applications with public APIs.  Expert Flickr developer Dave Wilkinson skillfully guides readers through mashup fundamentals including REST, XML, and Ajax and then on to creating their own mashups and remixes using the Flickr API.  Topics covered include: Using mashup technologies including REST, Ajax,   JSON, SOAP, XML-RPC, CSS and more Using Flickr API Objects such as Interestingness, Tags, Sets, Groups and others Remixing Flickr with Flickr feeds Remixing using the API Greasemonkey hacks for Flickr Geotagging mashups with maps

and more.

Companion website at Wrox.com includes source code.

David Wilkinson is a highly skilled freelance technical consultant and programmer with more than 20 years’ experience in the IT industry, delivering business-critical systems to many blue-chip companies, including BP, Jaguar, Land Rover, Tesco, and Lloyds TSB. He also acts as operations manager at Utata, a community web site supporting photographers all over the world, and is responsible for the operation of the Utata site and its integration with Flickr. A keen amateur photographer, he discovered Flickr in its very early days and been a staunch advocate of it ever since.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

Chapter 1: Rewriting the Web.

Chapter 2: Flickr: A Short Tour.

Chapter 3: Getting Ready to Mash.

Chapter 4: The Flickr API.

Chapter 5: Flickr Feeds.

Chapter 6: Remixing Flickr Using the API.

Chapter 7: Authenticating with Flickr.

Chapter 8: Uploading Photos.

Chapter 9: Remixing Flickr Using Greasemonkey.

Chapter 10: Working with ImageMagick.

Chapter 11: Visualizing the News.

Chapter 12: Searching the Blogosphere.

Chapter 13: Displaying Your Photos with Google Maps.

Chapter 14: Caching Your Data.

Appendix A: Answers to Exercises.

Appendix B: Flickr API Methods.

Appendix C: Response Data Structures.

Appendix D: Useful Resources.

Index.