Web services, mashups, and QueryPath

Write a web service interface in ten lines. Import legacy HTML from a couple dozen lines of code. Get the content outline from an ODT document in 130 characters of code. Mash up five web services in a single module. This is what QueryPath makes possible.

There are hundreds of XML-based APIs, ranging from simple RESTful tools (like Twitter's XML API) to complex SPARQL-based semantic web endpoints (like DBPedia). The new QueryPath library makes it easy to write code that takes advantage of such web services.

QueryPath is a jQuery-like tool that provides XML/HTML and HTTP tools in a simple, powerful, and robust library. A Drupal module exposes QueryPath's rich feature set to Drupal, and it provides additional tools, such as an advanced XML cache and integration with Drupal's database layer.

Find out how Drupal can mash up multiple web services, turning a simple node into a semantically based content portal. Interested in a preview or two? Check out a YouTube video or try your hand at a semantically oriented Twitter intelligence test.

This session will cover:

• Using the QueryPath Drupal module
• What QueryPath offers over above other PHP XML tools (DOM, SimpleXML, expat...)
• Searching and modifying XML and HTML documents
• Semantically analyzing nodes with the Amplify module
• Using modules like QP Services to mash up multiple web services
• Importing XML and HTML into Drupal using the QP database integration layer

Attendees are expected to be familiar with PHP and Drupal module development. Some experience with jQuery will be useful as well.

Sources about QueryPath:

• The QueryPath project
• The QueryPath Drupal module
• An IBM DeveloperWorks article introducing QueryPath.