Polling Search Engines

[Martin Baxter]

Mark Wieder wrote:
> Martin-
> 
> Wednesday, November 23, 2005, 1:04:19 AM, you wrote:
> 
> 
>><http://www.google.com/apis/index.html>
> 
> 
>>for how to sign up for a developer key for the Google APIs. Last I heard
>>you get 1000 queries per day, each of which may return max 10 results.
> 
> 
> And therein lies the rub. If I, say, create an app that uses the
> Google API it's linked to my Google developer id. If I then
> distribute that app, my developer id is responsible for *all* those
> accumulated queries. If my app becomes wildly popular and 1001 people
> use it once in a single day, every single one of those copies will
> stop working. AND every other app I have created using my developer id
> will also stop working.
> 

Indeed Mark, I believe there has to be a practical use for it but don't 
ask me what. I've never found an excuse to use it partly because of the 
issue you mention and also partly because I can start to twitch 
uncontrollably, roll my eyes and grind my teeth when I read a sentence 
containing the acronym "SOAP" (It's entirely irrational I admit).

I think that the distributable apps that have been built on it generally 
require the user to get their own developer account in order to get 
around this issue. The user then enters their own developer key to use 
the app. But that is quite limiting in itself. The app would need to be 
a bit more substantial than a gimmick before most people would bother, 
and as far as I know no-one has made anything earth-shattering with it. 
I think I've seen it used in web pages here and there but can't recall 
an actual example at the moment.

Martin