Chapter 11: Other Refinements You Should Consider

Overview

Building an application that works with Google Web Services means doing more than simply writing code that interacts with the Web service and making it perform well. The application requires other refinements, such as an easy to use interface and some means of providing feedback so you can continue to improve the application later. This chapter offers suggestions in both areas.

No matter what kind of application you write, you must consider the user's needs to ensure someone will actually use the application. Most developers realize that a Graphical User Interface (GUI) is better than a character mode interface and a few even realize that help is a requirement ”not a nicety. A few developers understand that tooltips are also important and speed keys (shortcut keys) help users keep their hands on the keyboard so they can remain efficient. These elements, along with layout and design, are common to any application you might create. The market already has a number of good User Interface (UI) design books, so I won't replicate their information here (you'll find some of them listed in the "Selecting User Interface Design Resources" sidebar in the "Targeting a Specific User Type" section). This chapter helps you decide how to create a great interface for your Google Web Services application using a combination of general and specific coding techniques.

Along with specific interface requirements for your application, this chapter also considers helpful design decisions. For example, although no one requires you to address privacy issues, many users are beginning to request this functionality and might not visit your site more than once if you don't provide a privacy policy. In addition, it's important to personalize the user's experience with your site so you don't have to ask the same questions every time the user visits . A user might like to use a specific stylesheet with your Web site or request a specific setup for your application. Personalization helps users have a better experience and improves user efficiency.

Feedback is the most common feature that you'll use in this chapter because even a Web site that performs simple searches should include some type of user feedback form. Desktop applications also benefit from feedback, although far too few applications include this feature. The idea is to provide a means for a user to make a comment about your application immediately during use ”when an idea, concern, or other comment is fresh and they're most likely to send it to you.

The final section of this chapter explores a new kind of application ”one in which you combine two Web services. It may seem like a bit of a stretch today, but future applications may well make use of several Web services at a time. The functionality provided by a Web service is certainly easier to manage than building that functionality on your own. This application combines Google Web Services with Amazon Web Services to create a research application for products.