Javascript API for Google Calendar

Google has just released a Javascript API for Google Calendars.

The client side library supports full authenticated read/write access the the user's calendars, letting you create calendar mashups that insert and change a user's calendar entries.

It was the Maps Javascript library that drove the explosion of Maps Mashups, so it'll be interesting to see what the development community comes up with.

Interestingly, yesterday on Joel on Software, Joel Spolsky predicted the next paradigm for development will be an online SDK that lets developers create powerful Ajax applications that can interact with each other and have consistent interface elements. A 'NewSDK',

"...which combines a great portable programming language that compiles to JavaScript, and even better, a huge Ajaxy library that includes all kinds of clever interop features. Not just cut ‘n’ paste: cool mashup features like synchronization and single-point identity management..." - Joel Spolsky

With the Google Mashup Editor and a library of full access Javascript APIs, Google may be well on the way to creating 'NewSDK'. The Google Maps API has helped make it a ubiquitous online map. Will the same thing now happen with Calendar? Then Spreadsheets, Docs, Picasaweb, GMail, ...?

Windows made it easy for developers to create applications that looked and behaved consistently and provided a level of application interop. With Javascript APIs and tools like the Google Mashup Editor and GWT may be trying to do the same thing with web development.

Google Apps Now With Docs & Spreadsheets + Paid Premier Edition

Google Applications for Your Domain has had a face lift and now also provides Google's Docs & Spreadsheets.

The other big news is the availability of 'Google Apps Premier' -- a $US50 / year / account service (free until May) with 24/7 phone support, 99.9% GMail up time, single sign-on support, no Adsense, and email gateway support (say hello Blackberry users!). This page shows the advantages to upgrading or you can compare the differences between versions. Educational institutions get Premier for free!

For developers there's new APIs for Google Apps, including provisioning, single sign-no and email gateway interfaces. Applications that make use of these new APIs can only be used with the Premier edition.

This push makes Google Apps a serious threat to Microsoft's Office empire. Keeping in mind that for large Enterprises the thought of hosting their applications off-site is an anathema. Likewise power users of Office applications (Excel in particular) are unlikely to consider switching. Spreadsheets' lack of support for pivot tables, a scripting language, advanced formulas, and form components makes it a non-starter for a lot of organisations that use Excel for data manipulation.

But For smaller companies (or educational institutions), the power-tools available in Excel and the rest of the Office suite are less important than the ability to write a fax, tabulate numbers, and easily and securely collaborate on spreadsheets and documents.

For these users remotely hosted applications that actively support collaboration are very attractive. Particularly with the 24/7 phone & email support Google are offering. Indeed for some operations the cost savings in application support far outweigh the $50 a year Google are charging for their office suite and will count as a net positive.

As an aside, this means that my Google Timesheeting tool is much more closely tied. I've updated my recent blog post on timesheeting with Google and posted some suggestions for how to make the most of the integration at the Office Tools Group.

A Response to 'Cracks Spread in Google's Armor'

I've just been reading 'Cracks Spread in Google's Armor', an article by Cody Willard published on RealMoney yesterday and on TheStreet.com today.

In it Cody describes three key 'fumbles' which he considers an early sign of the Google's potential downfall. It's a common theme this year with many Internet prognosticators suggesting that Google's 'golden age' is starting to tarnish, with some even suggesting that it's time to find the next Google.

It's an interesting theory and one that deserves discussion, unfortunately at least one of Cody's three points is patently false. Cody's second point decries Google abandoning its much trumpeted Gmail API strategy. He makes a strong arguement, the problem is Google's never offered an API to control Gmail, let alone one which supported "hundreds of applications".

I assume that the API he's referring too is the SOAP powered search API, which was shut down late last year to a chorus of dismay. Gmail offers POP access and some RSS feeds of mail, but no API (that's not stopped individuals reverse engineering the Javascript to develop their own hacked APIs mind you). I'm not saying that Google abandoning their search API is not a very bad thing, it is. But that's not what Cody is claiming.

Cody's remaining points focus on content agnosticism, particularly in Google Video, and net neutrality. I agree with him that CA is going to be a big issue with Google, the recent outrage on their insertion of 'tips' in search results bears witness to that. Much has been written on the net neutrality issue, so I'll simply say I disagree with him (and agree with Google) on that one and leave it at that. But at least these two points actually exist.

To add a concern of my own, I'd say Google's lack of transparency -- particularly its poor record of communication with developers looking to use Google's systems as a back-end to their own applications -- has the potential for Google's undoing. If in years to come a competitor arrives with services as good but offering robust and transparent APIs across the board, Google could be in trouble. Of course it's not too late for them to turn it around, and their recent work on gData APIs is a step in the right direction.

UPDATE: I've had the opportunity to try and clarify the issue with Cody. He maintains that, "They most certainly did and still do offer a gmail api. But they've reduced its functionality.". When I asked for references or links he suggested I search for 'Gmail API' on Google. The results feature dozens of links to an unofficial (and unendorsed) open source user created API written by Johnvy Hwang. Cody seems to have confused this unofficial, unendorsed, and unsupported project with a real and official Google API, which it most certainly isn't. Whoops.

Google Spreadsheets API C# Client Library

Excellent news for C# developers using Google gData API platform. As of yesterday the gData SVN repository and C# library download have been updated to include C# client libraries for using the new Google Spreadsheets API.

In more good news the C# libraries also fully support development on the Microsoft Mobile platform, so portable apps can make use of online spreadsheet data. Nice one.

I've been looking forward to this since Google announced the spreadsheets API last week. Actually this was something I'd requested from the Writely team before they got bought out by Google. Spreadsheets are a powerful business tool, so I expect to see some good developments in this space.