Mashups live on standards

Abstract

Mashups integrate web services from pre-existing resources, often submitting them to an unforeseen secondary use. This can only succeed if standards, specifications or other types of regulation are maintained. A good understanding of standards helps mashups and their developers along. The chapter illustrates how web standards are organized and takes its readers through a parade of selected standards. Since standardization is a moderately organized environment, standards and their relatives (specifications, APIs, guidelines) are grouped from a users’ point of view, depending on their usages in mashups: web communication, data organization, content types, web queries, and interfaces. As one may assume standards thrive in cultured web land and are poor or lacking in widely uncharted areas. Application examples are included from time to time. The standards review remains open-ended, but it draws the attention of its readers/users to an important and often neglected issue of their work. Some readers may find hints that directly help during mashup creation. All discussed entities come with their URL references (checked on 19/20-04-2012, a few ones on 20/23-09-2012).