ptg www.it-ebooks.info ptg Essential Facebook ® Development www.it-ebooks.info ptg This page intentionally left blank www.it-ebooks.info ptg Essential Facebook ® Development Build Successful Applications for the Facebook Platform John Maver Cappy Popp Upper Saddle River, NJ • Boston • Indianapolis • San Francisco New York • Toronto • Montreal • London • Munich • Paris • Madrid Cape Town • Sydney • Tokyo • Singapore • Mexico City www.it-ebooks.info ptg Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publish- er was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters or in all capitals. The authors and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omis- sions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein. The publisher offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk pur- chases or special sales, which may include electronic versions and/or custom covers and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, and branding interests. For more information, please contact U.S. Corporate and Government Sales (800) 382-3419 corpsales@pearsontechgroup.com For sales outside the United States, please contact International Sales international@pearson.com Visit us on the Web: informit.com/aw Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Maver, John, 1972- Essential Facebook development : build successful applications for the Facebook platform / John Maver, Cappy Popp. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-321-63798-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Facebook (Electronic resource) 2. Online social networks. 3. Social networks—Computer network resources. 4. Web sites—Design. I. Popp, Cappy, 1970- II. Title. HM742.M38 2010 006.7'54—dc22 009035432 Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited repro- duction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, elec- tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permis- sions, write to: Pearson Education, Inc. Rights and Contracts Department 501 Boylston Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02116 Fax (617) 671-3447 Facebook®is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc. ISBN-13: 978-0-321-63798-7 ISBN-10: 0-321-63798-4 Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at R.R. Donnelley in Crawfordsville, Indiana. First printing December 2009 Editor-in-Chief Mark Taub Acquisitions Editor Trina MacDonald Development Editor Michael Thurston Managing Editor Kristy Hart Project Editor Jovana San Nicolas-Shirley Copy Editor Sheri Cain Indexer Publishing Works Inc. Proofreader Apostrophe Editing Services Technical Reviewers Jerry Ablan Joseph Annuzzi, Jr. Benjamin Schupak Publishing Coordinator Olivia Basegio Cover Designer Gary Adair Compositor ATTiCA www.it-ebooks.info ptg ❖ This book is dedicated to those who aren’t afraid to dive in and figure out how things really work. ❖ www.it-ebooks.info ptg Contents at Glance Preface xvi Part I: Introduction to Facebook Applications 1 Facebook Applications: The Basics 3 2 Making Great Applications 21 3 Platform Architecture Overview 31 4 Platform Developer Tools 49 5 Facebook Terms of Service and Application Programs 69 Part II: Developing Applications 6 The Basics of Creating Applications 83 7 Building the Canvas 107 8 Updating the Profile 133 9 Feed Stories, Feed Forms, and Templates 155 10 Publisher, Notifications, and Requests 193 11 FBJS, Mock AJAX, and Flash 243 Part III: Integrating Facebook into an External Website 12 Facebook JavaScript Client Library 315 13 Facebook Connect 343 Part IV: Post Launch 14 Measuring Application Success 369 15 Spreading and Monetizing Applications 385 16 Improving Application Performance and Workflow 399 Part V: Appendices A Resources 421 B Beta Features 423 www.it-ebooks.info ptg Table of Contents Preface xvi Part I: Introduction to Facebook Applications 1 Facebook Applications: The Basics 3 Environment and Integration Points 4 Profiles 5 Feed 10 Sharing 13 Photos 14 Notes 14 Messages, Notifications, and Requests 14 Extending Facebook 16 Platform Applications 16 Desktop Applications 16 Public Profiles 16 Facebook Connect 17 Facebook Platform Core Components 18 FBML 18 FBJS 18 FQL 18 XFBML and the Facebook JavaScript Client Library 19 Summary 19 2 Making Great Applications 21 Begin with a Plan 21 Objectives 21 Target Audience 22 Value Proposition 22 Competitive Advantage 22 Involving the User 22 Iterating 23 Planning for Growth 23 Facebook’s Guiding Principles 23 Make Them Meaningful 23 www.it-ebooks.info ptg viii Contents Make Them Trustworthy 24 Make Them Well Designed 25 Examples of Great Applications 26 LivingSocial 26 Causes 27 Graffiti 27 Summary 29 3 Platform Architecture Overview 31 Facebook’s Internal Servers 31 Servers 31 Technologies 32 Facebook’s External REST Interface 33 Using REST on the Web 33 Implementing REST in Facebook 34 Overview of the Facebook API 35 Permissions API 35 Authorization API 35 Batching API 36 Comments API (Beta) 36 Data Store API (Beta) 36 Events API 36 FBML API 36 Feed API 37 FQL API 37 Links API 37 User Management API 37 Notes API (Beta) 38 Messaging API 38 Pages API 38 Photo and Video API 38 Profile API 38 Open Stream API (Beta) 38 Facebook JavaScript Client Library 39 Facebook Mobile Support 40 Library Support 42 www.it-ebooks.info ptg ix Contents Official Libraries 42 Unofficial or Third-Party Supported Libraries 43 Application Architecture 43 Secret Keys 44 Canvas Page URL 44 Canvas Callback URL 44 Canvas Page Workflow 44 Profile Box Workflow 46 Summary 46 4 Platform Developer Tools 49 Facebook Provided Tools 49 API Test Console 49 FBML Test Console 52 Feed Template Console 56 Registered Templates Console 57 Facebook Debugging Support 57 Developer Test Accounts 59 Browser Debugging Tools 60 Firebug Add-On for Firefox 60 Web Developer Add-On for Firefox 64 YSlow Add-On for Firefox 64 Firebug Lite Extension for Internet Explorer 6 and 7 65 IE Developer Toolbar for Internet Explorer 6 and 7 65 Debugger Tools for Internet Explorer 8 66 Summary 66 5 Facebook Terms of Service and Application Programs 69 Facebook Terms of Service 69 User Guidelines 70 Developer Guidelines 72 Facebook Application Programs 77 Application Verification Program 77 fbFund 78 Summary 80 www.it-ebooks.info [...]... to Facebook Applications,” overviews the architecture, integration points, and technologies of the Facebook Platform It explains what makes a successful Facebook application, using examples of proven applications Debugging tools and techniques are reviewed as they apply to Facebook development It n www.it-ebooks.info xvii Preface n n n n also provides a quick reference to the key points of the Facebook. .. infrastructure and adding support for profiles, canvas pages, messaging, and Facebook JavaScript (FBJS) Part III, “Integrating Facebook into an External Website,” introduces the Facebook JavaScript Client Library and Facebook Connect, which are two technologies for integrating Facebook functionality into external websites and IFrames within the Facebook Platform Part IV, “Post Launch,” details some best practices... system through a special “sharing” control that Facebook provides Figure 1.9 shows the Share dialog in action www.it-ebooks.info 13 14 Chapter 1 Facebook Applications: The Basics Figure 1.9 Facebook users can share content on Facebook either by directly publishing it to their profiles or by sending it to other users via a Facebook email message Photos Facebook has quickly become one of the biggest photo... features in Appendix B Contacting the Authors If you have any questions or comments about this book, send us an email at essentialfacebook@thoughtlabs.com.You can also visit this book’s website, www.essentialfacebook.com, for updates, downloadable code examples, and news on the ever-changing Facebook Platform www.it-ebooks.info Acknowledgments Writing a book requires a lot of hard work, but not just from... ten years leading softwaredevelopment teams and building award-winning software-debugging products.You can connect with John on Facebook at www .facebook. com/jmaver or Twitter at @jmaver Cappy Popp frequently speaks about Facebook and other topics at conferences such as GSP East, MITX, Social Media Business School, and others He has been developing popular applications for Facebook and other social... passion for ethnic cuisine.You can find Cappy on Facebook at www .facebook. com/cappypopp or Twitter at @cappypopp www.it-ebooks.info This page intentionally left blank www.it-ebooks.info I Introduction to Facebook Applications 1 Facebook Applications: The Basics 2 Making Great Applications 3 Platform Architecture Overview 4 Platform Developer Tools 5 Facebook Terms of Service and Application Programs... Figure 1.7 shows the Facebook Photo Publisher Note how it offers several different options for getting content into Facebook Feed Besides the profile, the Feed is the other major way applications can integrate into Facebook. The Feed is the beating heart of Facebook s social graph, and it’s what binds users together It contains all the activity you and your friends are involved in on Facebook. These activities... from within www.it-ebooks.info Environment and Integration Points Facebook, imported from external websites and applications, or created by applications within Facebook Figure 1.7 Facebook Photo Publisher allows users to upload or create new photos to share on Facebook Two major pieces to the Feed exist: the Feed Wall and the stream Facebook recently renamed the Home Page News Feed to the stream after... Information Services (IIS) No prior experience with Facebook development is required, although some familiarity with the Facebook website as a user is assumed.To be a good developer for a platform, it helps to understand it from a user’s perspective This book helps readers understand what makes a good Facebook application, how to use the core technologies of the Facebook Platform to create it, and the best... Chapter 1 Facebook Applications: The Basics International Growth n n More than 50 translations are available on the site, with more than 50 in development More than 70 percent of Facebook users are located outside the United States Platform n n n n More than 1,000,000 developers and entrepreneurs from more than 180 countries More than 350,000 applications are currently available from the Facebook Application . ptg www.it-ebooks.info ptg Essential Facebook ® Development www.it-ebooks.info ptg This page intentionally left blank www.it-ebooks.info ptg Essential Facebook ® Development Build Successful Applications for the Facebook. email at essentialfacebook@thoughtlabs.com.You can also visit this book’s website, www.essentialfacebook.com, for updates, downloadable code examples, and news on the ever-changing Facebook Platform. xvii Preface www.it-ebooks.info ptg Acknowledgments Writing. 14 Extending Facebook 16 Platform Applications 16 Desktop Applications 16 Public Profiles 16 Facebook Connect 17 Facebook Platform Core Components 18 FBML 18 FBJS 18 FQL 18 XFBML and the Facebook