Create Your Own Custom API
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If you've ever just gotten frustrated with XML-RPC, SOAP or any other "web service" protocal - do what I did - make your own!
By : Nathan Daniel
Recently, I dove head first into the world of XML-RPC and SOAP when I started understanding the powers of Macromedia Flash. Unfortunately - I'm impatient and didn't really understand the protocols of XML-RPC or SOAP. I studied each to find which would be the best fit for my project only to find both limited my development by having "pre-built" applications that automatically generated the XML data. So, I stepped out and started looking into other areas.
As well, in recent months I had begun development on tracking software via DHL and their customized API which opened up my thought process to the idea of building my own customized API. No more limitations made by other developers technology!
So now - I'll teach you how you can develop your very own customized API and web service system. But there are a few things I must mention before you go further.
First - creating your own API is impractical if you are a smaller company and you actually need clients to use your web service. You essentially have to build a standalone program to interact with your webservice. Unless your clients develop their own software - then you have to write a book (literally) on your API.
Second - If you just really wanna write your own API and see how it works - this is for you. Just know, it's not going to happen overnight (and probably not in less than a month or 2 or 12... depends on what you're doing).
So - with that said - there's no better way to learn than by example!
Next: Developing the basic API layout >>
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