Professional Web APIs with PHP: eBay, Google, Paypal, Amazon, FedEx plus Web Feeds

• Offers hands-on tips and numerous code examples that show Web developers how to leverage content and feeds from today''s top Web sites-including Google, eBay, PayPal, Amazon, Yahoo!, and FedEx
• Introduces APIs (Application Program Interfaces) in general and uses real-world examples that show how to produce and document them
• Explains how to use the popular scripting language PHP to create APIs that interact with unrelated applications over the Web
• Examples take readers through each stage of the API process, from basic test implementations to integration with existing sites

As the only book that details how to integrate different APIs and web feeds in PHP so websites can leverage content from eBay, Google, PayPal, Amazon, and FedEx, this hands-on guide takes you step by step through each stage of the API process. Experienced PHP programmer Paul Michael Reinheimer walks you through the production and consumption angles of web feeds and discusses XML-feeds so that you can access one of the fastest growing trends on the web. With real-world examples covering everything from basic test implementations to integration with existing sites, you''ll learn how to produce and document your own APIs, which will allow you to expand your sites and may even prompt you to re-examine how you structure your code.

What you will learn from this book

• How to add a third party API to your site or program one of your own
• Ways that a small ISP can use the Yahoo!® XML feed to publish recent technology on a site
• Why APIs are the preferred method for disparate applications to interact over the web
• Differences between the functions of APIs and web feeds and the benefits each has to offer
• The basic structure for REST and SOAP APIs

Who this book is for

This book is for programmers who have a strong understanding of PHP and are looking for detailed coverage of multiple APIs in PHP.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Paul Michael Reinheimer (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) is a Zend Certified Engineer currently developing Share The Beat (www.sharethebeat.com) an online music portal developed extensively in PHP. Paul has extensive PHP programming experience.

Chris Shiflett (NY, NY) is a frequent contributor to the PHP community and a leading security expert. He talks at conferences such as ApacheCon and the O''Reilly Open Source Convention, and publishes articles in PHP Magazine and php|architect. "Security Corner," his monthly column for php|architect, which is the industry''s foremost PHP security column.