7 Web Services projects

Innovations

• Unlike the MediaSock specification which concerns itself with only endpoints (client and server), this specification attempts to deal predominantly with intermediaries (gateways), yet also still offers endpoint functionality. Thus its methods might be used alongside existing API methods fufilling specific functions (whether provider-specific, or generic such as MediaSock), or in a completely-abstract manner on their own to fufil the same functions. However in such an abstract manner the method naming does not reveal the functionality offered by a provider, as compared to non-abstract APIs, instead it must be discovered using introspection, or hard-coded relying upon established behaviours or assumptions.

Links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20161104220249/http://profileconnect.org/api
• /portfolio/ProfileConnect.pdf

Innovations

• Optimised service addition and sign-in UI, including transparent post web authentication token retrieval (e.g. OAuth) using a simple 'becomes frontmost' check
• First application to upload both image data and annotations
• First application to interface between both multiple applications and multiple web services
• Comprehensive abstractions for web service behaviours with modular service plugin architecture including per-plugin version checking
• Co-branded builds with default sign-in prompts for service providers using an automated build system, and with provider-specific statistics (via a private website login)
• Only application to be able to upload images and then later sync the annotations (e.g. via Flick API)
• Only application to employ database-free metadata via file system extended attributes (i.e. for service upload IDs)
• Transparent licence activation after purchase on website

Features

• Integral image and metadata manipulation functions
• Support for multiple disparate web-service APIs for uploads with an aggregate progress UI
• Interfaces with the file system and external applications to collect data, including support for standards-based emebedded IPTC/XMP and XMP sidecar files for annotations

Links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20160319083827/http://picturesync.net/windows

Innovations

• First library to enable use of common code and functionality with disparate service providers.
• Simultaneous classed data and string handling (suitable for AJAX-type web server deployment scenarios as well as desktop).

Features

• Standardised functionality: list/make albums, list/download/upload media.
• Initially available with modules for Webshots, Flickr, and Yahoo! Photos.
• Session saving (service dependant).

Links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20080913040425/http://mediasock.org/
• http://mediasock.googlecode.com/hg/Release/Docs/MSCF%20Outline.pdf
• http://mediasock.googlecode.com/hg/Release/Docs/MSCF%20Service%20Reference.pdf
• http://code.google.com/p/mediasock/source/browse/

Links

• /portfolio/mediaSleeve.pdf

Innovations

• clients can utilise service discovery not only check with a low cost (i.e. via HTTP HEAD) if a provider supports the protcol, but also what methods and characteristics are supported by that provider (interoperability between clients and servers is notably not guaranteed by the protocol)
• designed from the outset for easy implementation by service providers; could be implemented simply atop existing page forms, using existing cookies for authentication and utilising other common API methods instead of requiring new implementations

Features

• choice of implementation models for service providers
• fixed-string XML and values allow parsing of responses without requiring a heavyweight XML parser

Links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20161104230119/http://profileconnect.org/mediasock
• /portfolio/MediaSock.pdf

Innovations

• Optimised service addition and sign-in UI, including transparent post web authentication token retrieval (e.g. OAuth) using a simple 'becomes frontmost' check
• First application to upload both image data and annotations
• First application to interface between both multiple applications and multiple web services
• Comprehensive abstractions for web service behaviours with modular service plugin architecture including per-plugin version checking
• Co-branded builds with default sign-in prompts for service providers using an automated build system, and with provider-specific statistics (via a private website login)
• Only application to be able to upload images and then later sync the annotations (e.g. via Flick API)
• Only application to employ database-free metadata via file system extended attributes (i.e. for service upload IDs)
• Transparent licence activation after purchase on website

Features

• Integral image and metadata manipulation functions
• Support for multiple disparate web-service APIs for uploads with an aggregate progress UI
• Interfaces with the file system and external applications to collect data, including support for standards-based emebedded IPTC/XMP and XMP sidecar files for annotations
• Fullscreen view

Links

• http://web.archive.org/web/20160313224800/http://picturesync.net/

Innovations

• First and only application to avoid polling iTunes every second or so, and instead more efficiently poll by simply calculating when the track ends, thus avoiding undue CPU load
• Use of variables for configuring metadata preferences
• Creation of JPEG artwork from iTunes PICT wrapper
• First application to provide artwork upload

Features

• Locates artwork from disk, or extracts from iTunes
• Integrated Last.fm scrobbling

Links

• http://holocore.com/?OnDeck