Facebook API Developers Guide [Paperback]

The Facebook API allows web developers to create Facebook applications and access Facebook data from other applications. Facebook API Developers Guide covers the use and implementation of the Facebook APIwhat the key features are and how you can access them. You will learn, through practical examples, the main features of the Facebook API including an introduction to the APIspecific languages FQL and FBML. These examples are further supported by the introduction of other technologies like language libraries, relational database management systems, and XML.

• Covers all key features of the Facebook API
• Explains the API languages FQL and FBML
• Teaches by example, with useful code and tips you can use in your own applications

This chapter covered the different parts of the Facebook platform. The main technologies in the platform consist of a REST API for data interchange, a language to querying information from Facebooks databases, and a language to render certain portions of the Facebook platform to users (FBML). There are additional parts to the language that are more complex, such as Facebook JavaScript, and that are useful, but theyre not a core part of the platform (that is, you dont need to use FBJS to develop your applications). The chapter also touched on the client libraries, which play an important part in gluing the Facebook platform to your development language. I also showed how to create a basic, functional application that updated the users status message. To do this, you used an FBML form, mock Ajax, FQL, the PHP client library, and calls to the API. In the next chapter, Ill kick things up a bit and show how to develop a more robust, complete application. Ill not only cover user interface design and development issues, but Ill also briefly discuss ways to monetize your application and where to go to find help when (or for you lӻ