Why should anyone ever use a Google API again? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#21

Post by kenjackson » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:37 PM UTC

jmathai wrote: post #2

I can't state this enough. Building your company which heavily relies on an API provided by someone else is risky business. Why are we still in this infatuation stage of ignoring the pitfalls of this?

Actually this is even more specific, which is building your product on a webservice provided by someone else is risky. Unlike a library you download, a webservice ends the day they cut access to it.

With a library you can continue to use it, and slowly rebuild your product to use a different library (or even use that library forever if it works for you), but with a web service it works 100% today and tomorrow it doesn't work at all.

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#22

Post by freshfunk » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:37 PM UTC

wccrawford wrote: post #7

You mean, why should you build a for-profit product while relying on someone else's not-for-profit API? I'm guessing you shouldn't! I've seen a lot of neat projects come from Google APIs, but that's as far as I'd taking it. Relying on someone else's good will for the lifeblood of your company is insane. 1 exception, though: Getting started. I could see using Google to get off the ground and then switching to a more r…

As a counterpoint, many companies are built off of APIs that are out there. That's the nature of business and that's actually great for the API authors out there.

But if developers knew that APIs could easily go away, then people wouldn't build businesses on top of those APIs. The risk would be too high.

I don't know the history but it seems that Google could've implemented some simple solutions to prevent abuse of their APIs while catering to the business community such as simply charging for use. Any legit business would be willing to do this.

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#23

Post by neovive » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:39 PM UTC

The announcements seem impact the smaller, niche, API's. It's unlikely that this would ever happen to large API's such as Maps, Analytics, etc. However, the Translate API was definitely very cool.

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#24

Post by orblivion » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:39 PM UTC

Google shuts down several of countless, FREE APIs, on which the foundations of many startups rest.

"Google is just another company who doesn't care about developers."

What? A little gratitude, at least, before suggesting how things could be better.

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#25

Post by michaelpinto » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:39 PM UTC

Question: Can anyone recommend another Translation API? The problem is that the translation work that Google does is the best out there that I've seen, and I'm not even sure if there's a decent alternative to be found.

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#26

Post by jsdalton » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:40 PM UTC

I don't mean to be a stickler, but this is an egregious example of editorializing in the title. Can someone edit it please?

I was already well aware of the API deprecation story, but I clicked on this link thinking it was a new article from Google defending the move (or something of the sort).

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#27

Post by yalogin » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:42 PM UTC

wccrawford wrote: post #7

You mean, why should you build a for-profit product while relying on someone else's not-for-profit API? I'm guessing you shouldn't! I've seen a lot of neat projects come from Google APIs, but that's as far as I'd taking it. Relying on someone else's good will for the lifeblood of your company is insane. 1 exception, though: Getting started. I could see using Google to get off the ground and then switching to a more r…

I completely agree that you are shooting yourself in the foot if you are relying on someone else's API for you entire functionality. But there are a few things here -

* Everything Google does is free. So it can be argued that the API is in fact for-profit. * In this case, translation is not something a small company can do by themselves. The API's whole value proposition is that it enables startups without the infrastructure like Google can create interesting applications using the API. Google wants people to do that and its very much a big part of its success so far.

So the developer is not entirely at fault.

I would not rely on that one API itself for my business but he/she chose to do it.

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#28

Post by ChuckMcM » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:43 PM UTC

tybris wrote: post #15

wccrawford wrote: post #7

You mean, why should you build a for-profit product while relying on someone else's not-for-profit API? I'm guessing you shouldn't! I've seen a lot of neat projects come from Google APIs, but that's as far as I'd taking it. Relying on someone else's good will for the lifeblood of your company is insane. 1 exception, though: Getting started. I could see using Google to get off the ground and then switching to a more r…

I don't see the point of this whole release a free API, shut it down nonsense. I wouldn't mind paying for any of Google's APIs.

If you pay for an API, and it doesn't work, you can show economic harm and that gives you a basis to sue.

I know from experience that a number of Google's APIs are just some engineer's idea of how to hook into the data stored in the back end which Google puts out there for some easy (and free) goodwill but without any commitment ever to actually do the necessary foundational work to support it as a product (which they are really really bad at, in case you haven't noticed).

So the point is they use the API internally, exposing it gives them additional testing and additional feedback on how to make it better. Once the cost incurred by offering it for free exceeeds the benefits of the testing they pull it back. Continuing to use the now 'well tested and well rounded' API internally.

GOOG-411 was a great example of this. It was a great way to get voice samples from a lot of people by bartering a service. Once their voice training parameters weren't getting better they turn off the service, (cuts costs) but they still get the durable benefit of a well trained voice recognition library.

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#29

Post by SriniK » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:45 PM UTC

thetrumanshow wrote: post #4

Google has made some unpopular developer-facing moves lately (App Engine pricing changes come to mind), and it seems entirely out-of-character. From now on, any API announcement from Google should be accompanied with a GIANT expiration date stamped all over it by default. Then, if it keeps going... happy surprise!

Google is doing the right thing that would be typical for an internet company. For any product they would need to have maintainers/owners who are continuously updating and monitoring. It is completely waste of time to maintain unused stuff.

Re: Why should anyone ever use a Google API again?

#30

Post by mindcrime » Fri, May 27, 2011, 6:46 PM UTC

krisrak wrote: post #17

Never rely on anyones API, building something with API is mashup/side-project not a startup/company.

Never rely on anyones API, building something with API is mashup/side-project not a startup/company.

I think a better statement is "Never rely on anyone's API unless you have a contractual agreement and SLA in place, and a backup plan for if/when the API goes away; building something on an API otherwise is a mashup/side-project not a startup/company."