Facebook Source

Do you have an idea for a Facebook application? With FBML Essentials, you'll learn how to build it quickly using the Facebook Markup Language (FBML) and other easy-to-use tools in the site's framework. If you can develop a website with HTML, writing a Facebook application with the help of this book will be a breeze. Of course, Facebook is not just another website. Any applications you write for it will have a potential audience of 16 million dedicated users. It's not just another social networking site, either. Under the surface, Facebook is pretty sophisticated, with a development toolkit that includes it's own modified version of HTML -- FBML -- to customize the look and feel of your Facebook applications. With FBML Essentials, you not only learn how to get started with this toolkit, you also get a complete reference on every FBML tag Facebook has ever written, with examples of how each tag works and advice on the best ways to use these tags in your code. This book includes: A walkthrough of a sample Facebook application Design rules for using images, CSS, JavaScript, and forms Specific chapters on tags -- authorization tags, logic tags, user/group tags, profile-specific tags, and more Messaging and alerts using FBML Creating forms with FBML Facebook navigation Notifications and requests Dynamic FBML attributes, including MockAJAX How to test your FBML code A chapter on FBJS, Facebook's version of JavaScript

If you want to try your hand at writing a Facebook application, you have a willing audience, an easy-to-use toolkit, and the perfect guide to get you started. FBML Essentials will help you take your idea from conception to working application in no time.

There’s no doubt about it — Facebook is cool. Along with users who want to interact with friends, businesses are using Facebook as a marketing and networking tool. And if you’re a Web developer, you probably know there’s a demand for Facebook applications. If you have some basic knowledge of Web client technology, such as HTML, JavaScript, or CSS, and know how to use a Web programming language, Building Facebook Applications For Dummies is just what you need to start building apps for Facebook.

This friendly guide helps you create applications to reach Facebook’s huge audience, so you can enlarge your list of friends, introduce people to your product or service, or network with other business professionals. You’ll find out how to:

• Work with the Facebook API
• Build applications that take advantage of Facebook’s News Feed and Wall
• Migrate existing Web applications to Facebook
• Create mobile apps for Facebook
• Use Facebook’s markup and query languages
• Get your app noticed by Facebook users

A handy companion Web site includes code samples, starter applications, and other useful information about building Facebook apps. Whether you want to create applications for business purposes or just for fun, Building Facebook Applications For Dummies is the fun and easy way to get started.

Developing Facebook Platform Applications with Rails leads you through the steps necessary to build your first application. You'll get hands-on experience with Facebook technologies such as FBML and FQL, and master messaging and news feeds.

You'll do more than just study the Facebook API-you'll get practical tips from an experienced Facebook developer. We'll cover advanced techniques such as AJAX and asynchronous messaging, and you'll see how to slash development time with facebooker, the leading Ruby library for Facebook Platform development.

Together, we'll build Karate Poke, a real Facebook Platform application, from configuration to deployment. You'll get deep into Facebook requests right off the bat. From there, you'll build the core of Karate Poke and then get a detailed look at the Facebook canvas and social features. We'll finish by looking at advanced features and tips for handling millions of users.

Developing for the Facebook Platform can seem like a different world at first. Developing Facebook Platform Applications with Rails is your tour guide.