If you are looking into OpenSocial, some great resources below. If you are examining Apache Shindig, then you will also be very interested in Project SocialSite which leverages that effort and extends it in some very interesting ways. Information on how Project SocialSite augments Apache Shindig is also below. To Tell you the truth, if I was IBM - I would seriously look at the possible synergies between Project SocialSite and Connections - especially if IBM wants to take Connections outside the firewall (which right now, I think is a very weak play).
OpenSocial API Blog: Introducing the OpenSocial Development Environment
With the OpenSocial Development Environment (OSDE), you no longer need an online OpenSocial container environment to build your applications. OSDE is a new Eclipse plugin that lets you develop either OpenSocial JavaScript (gadget) client applications or OpenSocial Java client applications using OpenSocial 0.8's REST/RPC protocols, entirely within the Eclipse development environment.
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OSDE is able to provide a complete, standalone development environment because it bundles the same code running on many OpenSocial containers today into a single Eclipse plug-in: for serving gadgets and OpenSocial data, Apache Shindig is bundled along with a compact Java H2 database, allowing for social data persistence. OSDE also uses Hibernate for Java Object Relational mapping of the OpenSocial data entities: people, activities, and data. Plus, OSDE bundles the OpenSocial Java client library so its wizards can quickly generate runnable Java client applications that use OpenSocial's REST/RPC protocols.
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For more information on how to use OSDE, checkout the OSDE tutorial (which includes a screencast) and visit the OSDE homepage.
Posted by Chris Schalk, Google Developer Advocate
OpenSocial API Blog: Introducing the OpenSocial Development Environment
More on how Project SocialSite augments Apache Shindig
Preparing for my Shindig talk next month
I want to be able to show how to add social features including OpenSocial support to a blog server and a wiki server by using plain old Shindig and then Project SocialSite. I'm targeting Roller and JSPWiki because they're the blog and wiki source code bases that I know best right now and they're both Apache efforts, but the same techniques should work with other systems like Wordpress or Drupal. If I have time I might be able to demo those too (but I wouldn't count on it).
I'm not sure how far I can go with plain old Shindig because, like most blog and wiki servers, neither Roller nor JSPWiki has detailed profile data, social relationships or activities. I should be able to get Google Gadgets working via Shindig, but OpenSocial Gadgets will take a lot more thought and effort.
I'm much more confident in the Project SocialSite approach. SocialSite provides for storage of detailed profile information, groups, activities and app data as well as the necessary UI. I'm confident enough that I'm going to deploy it on this site. So, stay tuned. I hope to have something to show by the end of next week.
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