Google Gadgets

I started experimenting with Google Gadgets today - and I am very impressed with how easy the iGoogle and OpenSocial frameworks are to use. This is a great example of how a good framework, combined with some on-demand hosting services and mashups of REST-based data sources can make lightweight (or "rowboat") application development very simple. Mixing data from multiple sources via easy-to-integrate URL's is a great development paradigm for creating operational dashboards or quick glance BI reports.

In my particular case, I was looking to be able to quickly glance at a page of stock charts to see whether any stocks I'm currently following are at an interesting point. FinViz.com is a wonderful freemium site for simple analysis, but to follow 4 or 5 stocks required just too many searches and clicks. But FinViz follows the good Web 2.0 pattern of making their charts publishable and linkable through a URL, so you can combine them to make a dashboard or mashup very easily. (More proof that REST-based web services are better for distributing your data or enabling partners to easily integrate. SOAP is ok for heavy weight system integration, but if your goal is to get your data used, use REST!)

A few hours of reading the docs and scripting and now I've got a configurable stock dashboard integrated with my iGoogle home page. I just have to decide how to handle the charts when the gadget is not maximized -- any suggestions? :-)