Slashdot Mirror
FBML Essentials
stoolpigeon writes "Facebook became the largest worldwide social site in the middle of last year. If their current pace holds they will pass MySpace as number one in the US some time next year. Those numbers have led a number of people to strike out and develop Facebook applications, hoping to grab a piece of that huge audience. One aspect of writing such applications is knowing Facebook Markup Language, which has been described as the icing on the Facebook API cake. FBML Essentials aims to be the resource that provides hopeful application writers with what they need to use FBML successfully." Keep reading for the rest of JR's review.
FBML Essentials
author
Jesse Stay
pages
185
publisher
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
rating
8/10
reviewer
JR Peck
ISBN
978-0-596-51918-6
summary
Facebook Markup Language Fundamentals
FBML Essentials is a slim little volume in the world of massive technical books. The author, Jesse Stay has accomplished something many projects and authors can't seem to avoid, scope creep. This little book stays right on target providing FBML documentation with a few extras as book-ends. One will not be forced to spend half their time with the book skimming over information not directly related to the topic at hand.
The reference portion of the book, as I said, is the bulk of this guide. This section does provide more thorough information than what one would find at the FBML tag section of the Facebook developer wiki. (Which sometimes holds contradicting information for the use of some tags.) There is not only a brief explanation and example but more detailed coverage of options and ramifications. Tags are also grouped in a way that takes into account functionality and what a developer may want to do. This means that while it might not be a thrilling way to go about it, one could read through the reference material in a topical manner while learning how to use FBML in applications.
The first two chapters, before the reference section begins, introduce Facebook applications, walk the reader through prerequisites for development and html considerations within the Facebook environment. This book assumes a solid understanding of markup and specifically html. There is an extremely brief treatment of hosting and general architecture of the Facebook platform.
The introductory material also steps through creating an application with nothing more than FBML. I thought that this was interesting because it means that it is possible to develop and launch an application rather quickly as there is nothing required beyond what is in this guide. This is backed up with an introduction to the FBML Test Console, a tool that allows developers to check their markup without requiring a server.
The last chapter after the reference is a quick introduction to Facebook Java Script. FBJS is a limited form of javascript and Stay does not spend much time with it. There is a quick list of methods, listeners and dialogs with a small amount of illustration on how they might be used as a whole. There are not examples given for each.
There isn't a whole lot here and that ought to be encouraging to anyone who would want to write a Facebook application but doesn't want to invest a huge amount of time. Stay gives an example of building a simple application using nothing more than FBML. It's nice to know that such simple functionality can provide one with an entre into a huge community of potential users. I am also glad that Stay was able to resist the urge to start pulling in every possible aspect of development for Facebook. Instead of a bloated guide the result is a compact and efficient guide to FBML, keeping costs down and avoiding wasted time trying to find what the reader needs.
The index is solid and I highly recommend this handy reference to anyone doing Facebook application development. Of course the use here is limited to Facebook and as they are constantly developing and changing the product, this reference has a definite shelf life. (Though I don't know exactly what that might be.) So this is not a timeless or ground breaking title, but is extremely practical right now.
You can purchase FBML Essentials from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews — to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
The reference portion of the book, as I said, is the bulk of this guide. This section does provide more thorough information than what one would find at the FBML tag section of the Facebook developer wiki. (Which sometimes holds contradicting information for the use of some tags.) There is not only a brief explanation and example but more detailed coverage of options and ramifications. Tags are also grouped in a way that takes into account functionality and what a developer may want to do. This means that while it might not be a thrilling way to go about it, one could read through the reference material in a topical manner while learning how to use FBML in applications.
The first two chapters, before the reference section begins, introduce Facebook applications, walk the reader through prerequisites for development and html considerations within the Facebook environment. This book assumes a solid understanding of markup and specifically html. There is an extremely brief treatment of hosting and general architecture of the Facebook platform.
The introductory material also steps through creating an application with nothing more than FBML. I thought that this was interesting because it means that it is possible to develop and launch an application rather quickly as there is nothing required beyond what is in this guide. This is backed up with an introduction to the FBML Test Console, a tool that allows developers to check their markup without requiring a server.
The last chapter after the reference is a quick introduction to Facebook Java Script. FBJS is a limited form of javascript and Stay does not spend much time with it. There is a quick list of methods, listeners and dialogs with a small amount of illustration on how they might be used as a whole. There are not examples given for each.
There isn't a whole lot here and that ought to be encouraging to anyone who would want to write a Facebook application but doesn't want to invest a huge amount of time. Stay gives an example of building a simple application using nothing more than FBML. It's nice to know that such simple functionality can provide one with an entre into a huge community of potential users. I am also glad that Stay was able to resist the urge to start pulling in every possible aspect of development for Facebook. Instead of a bloated guide the result is a compact and efficient guide to FBML, keeping costs down and avoiding wasted time trying to find what the reader needs.
The index is solid and I highly recommend this handy reference to anyone doing Facebook application development. Of course the use here is limited to Facebook and as they are constantly developing and changing the product, this reference has a definite shelf life. (Though I don't know exactly what that might be.) So this is not a timeless or ground breaking title, but is extremely practical right now.
You can purchase FBML Essentials from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews — to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
A free excerpt:
http://twitter.com/onion2k
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Using the instructions here:
http://developers.facebook.com/get_started.php
The first time I heard 'facebook' I thought of type-A jocks and stuck-up 'faces' at college. And myspace is the same thing but for a younger set - airhead teenagers and their fanboi's (as well as the younger set of jocks and 'faces')
Additionally, the code on the VERY few myspace pages I have had the misfortune to have accessed proves that *no one* associated with myspace, either as a user or developer/admin, has ANY clue how to put together an html page that isn't painful to look at.
Writing a few lines of a data markup language does not make you a programmer , you have not "developed" anything and hence what you have written is not an "application". At best its a description of functionality but it is NOT the implementation of it which is what the word "develop" in the programming sense means. FBJS may well be a programing language (albeit a noddy one) but FBML is not and I get a teensy bit tired of idiots people pretending they're some amazing app developer because they can grasp how to use *ML. Lets get this straight - a friggin chimp could code in a markup language given 2 hours training.
Social networking is right up there with the term "Web 2.0" on the list of things I despise.
FBML is not called Shark Sandwich. The review would be easier.
quis custodiet ipsos custodes
along with Twitter, Myspace, blogging (as a personal, not project, broadcasting tool), etc.
Anyone who is passionate about using/doing any of these tools is automatically a douche. Never met any exceptions. This is logical: no-one with sufficient humility to think their life is not worth broadcasting would care much for these tools. And anyone without that humility has sufficient ego that they, in fact, could not give two shits about you, and would shaft you the first time it was necessary to advance themselves.
I mean, for fuck's sake, you want to communicate your life to your friends but you don't have the time to communicate personally with them? Is that really how much a friend is worth to you? How do you get off fooling these people into hanging on your every word?
As if that wasn't enough, if you accept Facebook's privacy policy, you're the type to tolerate all sorts of shit which ultimately makes you to blame for the gradual erosion of individual liberties. Your desire to put convenience over a sensible policy of personal information dissemination makes you a useful idiot of every authoritarian state.
In summary: Avoid at all costs.
I am also well beyond those years, but have recently joined Facebook. I wouldn't say it's a platform only for teens, but a platform that is as mature as your friends are. I like it for two reasons:
First, I live far away from where I grew up, and I miss the short casual interactions that naturally come from close proximity. Email, blogs, and even phone calls don't lend themselves as well to things like short offhand comments about a book you're reading.
Second, I was surprised at how quickly it connected me with people I haven't seen in a long time, like since high school. People I wish I hadn't lost track of.
I know the slashdot crowd has a certain amount of counterculture pride, but sometimes people take it too far and miss out on something that is both popular and potentially worthwhile.
This space intentionally left blank.
I've heard rumors that the US isn't the world. Shhh. Don't tell anybody.
I read it, and it's not that bad. You're not required to put you whole life on there.
Actually, it's pretty nice. If you're anything like the average semi-geek, you knew lots of people in school. You were probably friends with a bunch of them, but in all honesty after 20 years of being apart, you've probably got about 5 minutes of catching up to do. On facebook, you can, and avoid the 45 minutes of awkward prattle that would occur if said acquaintance were to show up in your town and you decided to meet over a beer.
I check my page 2-3 times a week, and it keeps me abreast of friends (and just casual acquaintances) and what they're doing. It also helps in organizing meetings - my old frat brothers get together for golf every year or two, and it's the easiest way to keep coordinated. Use it, don't let it use you. Turn off all the email notifications (Except maybe private messages) and don't install any applications, they are the devil's spawn.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
It used to be that people made their own web pages, and if they were so-inclined and had their own server, a nice document template, some dynamic stuff, whatever.
Now it's this crap. What's sad is that this stuff really adds no particular value to people who had their own webpages.
It's like we're back to AOL and Compuserve all of a sudden. WTF, over?
According to Alexa, Facebook passed Myspace last April. Myspace is in decline; they're now about 2x the reach of AOL, and dropping.
That's why I built a decent facebook app.
An app where everybody gives you money? No wonder you think it's decent. ;-)
Seriously, most of the apps are really pointless, or can be. I don't mind a certain degree of that because it plays into casual contact, especially if you, like me, make it a point to include personalized messages when you send someone flowers, give them a hug or throw a snowball. I gave a hug to a coworker who was having a rough week and included a short note wishing her well. I give my wife little things like that all the time, just like a card. There's a new one I received involving comic books, so I picked out a Watchmen to send to a friend with a comment about what he thinks the movie would be like. This can spur conversation.
I got invited to check out the D&D game, which I found out was really pointless because you don't _do_ anything except watch your character level up. Mafia Wars is the same thing. It's kind of fun for about 2 weeks until you run out of stuff to acquire. Then you're just accumulating money you can't do anything with. The sad thing is that there are tons of games that are _exactly_ the same as MW but with different themes, spaceships, race cars, superheros. Winning at MW essentially boils down to getting as many people as possible to join your "team". The rest of it is completely mechanical and could be played by a short Perl script.
Puzzle games, like Scramble, or some of the trivia games are the only ones that even count as games to me. It seems the market is wide open for some real non-trivial gaming possibilities that capitalize on the interconnectedness of FB users in a way that still allows for things like strategy and tactics. The mindless stuff is fine, especially when I want to do things like thank some nice person I haven't seen in 27 years for saying something nice to me, or wishing people happy birthday, etc. If you take the time to personalize and use the tools to actually communicate, they have value. But I think there's a lot of room for more depth in FB apps, and I'm close to getting annoyed enough at the lack of them to consider making one.
Frankly, I find the best utility of FB is a more open way to essentially e-mail to people. It's not quite one-on-one and it's not quite the same as throwing a blog out there to an uncaring, disinterested world, and that, to me, is the real value of the whole platform. Throw in some real games and apps, and I think it has the potential to be much more than it started out.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.