Mashups

Mashup Introduction

A Web mashup is a Web page or Web site that combines information and services from multiple sources on the Web. Similar to music mashups, where artists combine, for example, vocals from one song with the music from another,Web mashups combine information and/or complementary functionality from multiple Web sites or Web applications.A Web mashup server lets you connect, collect, and mash up anything on the Web as well as data on some backend systems.

Mashups can be grouped into seven categories:mapping, search, mobile, messaging, sports, shopping, and movies. More than 40 percent of mashups are mapping mashups (Eric van der Vlist and colleagues, Professional Web 2.0 Programming,Wrox, 2006).

HousingMaps? (http://www.housingmaps.com) is a typical mashup application. It pulls sales and rental information from the classified advertisement Web site Craigslist (http://www.craigslist. com) and displays the listings on interactive maps pulled from Google Maps. Users can drag the map to see what is available for sale or rent in a given region. Several other new-breed Web applications similarly integrate multiple services under a rich user interface. For instance, Fishing Solutions (http://www.fishingsolutions.com.au) uses Google Maps and information from anglers to help users find fish. Roadwatch (http://www.roadwatch.com.au) shows all the speed cameras in an area or on route to a destination.

It’s easier and quicker to create a mashup than to code an application from scratch in a traditional way. This capability is one of Web 2.0’s most important and valuable features.

Mashup API

Mashups are generally created using application programming interfaces. Simple and well-documented APIs make mashup creation easy.

An API is an interface provided by an application that lets users interact with or respond to data or service requests from another program, other applications, or Web sites. APIs facilitate data exchange between applications, allow the creation of new applications, and form the foundation for the “Web as a platform” concept.

For example, Google Maps’ API lets developers integrate Google Maps into their Web sites using their own data points.APIs for other services, such as weather or calendar information and search functions, are also available. Amazon’s Web site offers several APIs, making it easy for other business Web sites to interact with it.For a directory of categories of APIs available for use, see Webmashup (http://www.webmashup.com/Mashup_APIs/index.html).

In addition to APIs, you can incorporate data feeds into a mashup.Or, at the most basic level, programmers can use screen scraping, a technique for extracting any information, of any type, from any Web page.

The power of mashups

A mashup’s value isn’t in the data or service itself, but in a better user interface for the data, or in its ability to combine data from several sources in interesting or significant ways.Three main types of mashups are in use (see Eric van der Vlist and colleagues, Professional Web 2.0 Programming,Wrox, 2006); those that provide the following:

• An enhanced user interface.

Drawing on data from mostly one source, this type of mashup provides a better interface—for example, a better way to navigate through information, a more responsive interface, or the presentation of more relevant information by displaying only a subset of information that is of particular interest to the user.

• Value-added information by aggregation.

By bringing together information from various sources on the Web—both internal and external to an enterprise—into a dashboard-like view, this type of mashup adds value by aggregating the data, making the combined data more relevant.

• Value-added information augmented with an enhanced user interface.

This type of mashup aggregates data from different sources and presents the data with a better user interface.

For information on the latest mashups and new Web 2.0 APIs, see ProgrammableWeb? (http://www.programmableweb.com).

Developers and enterprises are beginning to use mashups to create new Web applications that provide value-added new features, knit together multiple services, and provide rich user interfaces.Because they are easy to create, even employees who are technically less-savvy can create Web mashups, rather than having to rely on enterprise IT teams.

An enterprise can use mashups internally to collect information from different sources and combine it in intelligent ways to help people make smarter decisions. For example, executives can use mashups to gain a deeper understanding of customers and sales, and thus to make better decisions. Mashups also find application in areas such as payroll, customer relationship management, logistics, procurement, marketing, and e-commerce.

By opening up data and services that mashup creators can use, enterprises can gain strategic advantages. For example, the mashed-up applications can divert new users to their sites,or mashup creators could develop a new Web site that provides better interfaces to an enterprise’s existing Web site, which in turn could bring more visitors to the enterprise’s site.

Although a mashup makes it easy to draw on multiple data sources or services to create new applications quickly, there are also risks in using someone’s mashup service or API, in terms of their continued support, reliability, security, and scalability. Developers and enterprises that deploy and use mashup applications should be aware of the risks and limitations and choose dependable services.