

80legs releases python API - mikexstudios
http://blog.programmableweb.com/2010/04/08/want-to-search-the-web-in-python-try-search-spider-80legs/

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_pius
I'm hoping this means we'll see a Ruby API soon ...

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jdrock
The Ruby API is still on the to-do list! Note that a Ruby _API_ is in the
works, but Ruby _80apps_ are not.

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_pius
Glad to hear it's in the pipeline. :)

Could you clarify the distinction between having a Ruby API and having Ruby
80apps?

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jdrock
The API lets you control job submission, result delivery, etc. 80apps control
how you process the content on a per-page basis.

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po
I can think of hundreds of evil uses for this service, but I cannot think of
many good ones.

I'm sure there's lots. What are they?

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jdrock
Our customers do things like the following:

1\. Monitor online ad distribution

2\. Build directories of people on the web

3\. Check for IP violoations (digital watermarking, etc.)

4\. Build niche, localized search engines (picture searching, regional
searching, etc.)

5\. Collect information on product pricing, retail data, etc.

Crawling gets a bad rap. It's useful for a bunch of stuff.

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po
Yup, it certainly gets a bad rap... that's why I was curious what people use
this for. Thanks for the info.

