Early in the week, I posted about the end of the Google search API, and speculated that — since everyone else tends to copy Google — it might be the start of a general trend away from open data APIs and in favour of server-side AJAX widgets. In response, Amit Kumar of Yahoo sent me an e-mail message (after failing to get past Spam Karma in the comment system for my blog):

You don’t have to worry. We just posted a blog entry on this topic. Yahoo Search APIs are going strong – we welcome developers to use our APIs.

http://www.ysearchblog.com/archives/000393.html

Amit Kumar
Manager, Site Explorer

Thanks, Amit. Fortunately, megginson.com isn’t popular enough that it will break Yahoo’s 5,000 queries/day quota.

SOAP, REST, JSON, XML, and Serialized PHP

Note that Yahoo has a REST interface that can deliver results in XML, JSON, or serialized PHP, so if people get tired of the REST vs. SOAP perma-debate, there’s some alternative material for you here (if you want a good roaring debate, be careful to avoid reading Tim Bray’s carefully balanced view).