Mashups allow entirely new applications to be built by simply combining the APIs from third-party applications. Many large web companies, such as Google, Yahoo, and Amazon, have been providing access to their applications’ code libraries for some time. These APIs offer endless mashup opportunities, enabling you to essentially pick and choose the functionality that you want to offer your users by simply integrating multiple applications. You can, for example, integrate Google Maps with Google Adsense to match advertisements with map results or integrate the public transit route and schedule with map directions. The best part? It’s easy to do.
In this article, we’ll create a sample mashup that I’m calling the Monster Mash. This sample takes haunted houses that I hand-picked from the state of Illinois, which happens to be my old stomping grounds, and matches them up with Google Maps and corresponding Adsense advertisements. The sample can be viewed here and the source code for the mashup can be downloaded here.
Read the original article at Peachpit
