Google Hacks, 3rd Edition

Foreword

Working at Google means that you’re exposed to technologies that are nothing short of amazing. When Google Maps was deployed for internal testing, I really couldn’t believe my eyes. The sheer fun and usability of the maps were something that had transcended technology and made their way into the realm of magic. Look, I can drag the map onscreen, and I don’t have to download anything...it’s all in the browser! No reloading! Who know that JavaScript could do such cool stuff!

Once Maps launched, I had an idea in my head of how long it would take for our maps to appear on someone else’s web page, contrary to our terms of service. I guessed it would take developers a few months to tease apart the JavaScript and do something interesting with it. Paul Rademacher delivered well before then, combining Google Maps with Craig’s List to create a neat little tool for people to find places to live. Simple, clean, and smart, Paul’s Housingmaps.com took the Web by storm and made the word mash-up a part of the modern web developer’s lexicon.

When we saw what Paul had done with our fabulous little maps, we thought, “How can we make this kind of technology more reliably available to everyone?” Using an interface that isn’t publicly specified is no way to build a reliable service, for sure. As we changed things in the web site, Paul’s site and others failed. We didn’t want that, but we also didn’t have a suitable way to properly interact with the Pauls of the world. After quite a bit of work, ...