Online superstore Amazon.comhas expanded its Web
Services platform for developers, adding a new service for access to the
Alexa database and increased access to the Amazon E-Commerce Service
4.0.
The new Alexa Web Information Service (AWIS), which is available as a
free beta, gives developers access to data collected by the Alexa Web
Crawl, which includes more than 100 terabytes of data from over 4
billion Web pages.
Alexa, which was acquired
by Amazon.com in 1999, uses a Web Crawl technology to collect data about
Web site information and usage. With AWIS, Amazon.com is now providing
a platform to access information, like traffic rank, for Web sites, adult
content identification, load speed and related links.
The new Web Service also offers a Browse Category operation. A Web
Search operation provides a list of URLs that has content matching one
or more keywords, as well as a Crawl Meta Data operation that returns meta-data
for a specific Web site, including size, checksum, frames, images and
links.
AWIS also comes with a Web Map operation that offers a topographic
representation of Alexa’s Web crawl and a list of all links in and
out of a particular Web page.
The Amazon E-Commerce Service, which is free, gives developers access
to customer reviews, product information and images for all products
from the company’s home page.
With Version 4.0, Amazon.com has added a simpler API for shopping
cart features and access to new information on categories like apparel
and accessories, gourmet food, sports and outdoors and musical
instruments and health.
The new version also features extended search functionality to let
developers create applications with more complex search options than
those previously available, Amazon.com said.
The company has posted code samples and sample applications on its Web Services site.