Monday, April 21, 2008

Windows Live Application Based Storage API (Experimental)

Windows Live Dev - Application-Based Storage

"Store per-user setting for your web site

Application Based storage is an experimental API that allows application developers to store a small amount of state/configuration data in the Windows Live data centers on behalf of a user. This API has an AtomPub service end point so developers will be able to call this using ADO.NET data services or other AtomPub compatible tools. The real value kicks in here if an application was to have hundreds of thousands of users as the client bandwidth and storage are offloaded to Windows Live infrastructure." [Description leached in full]

MSDN - Windows Live Application Based Storage API

"Welcome to the Windows Live™ Application Based Storage API. The Application Based Storage API enables Web sites to view and update user data using the ATOM protocol. Web sites can incorporate the following functionality.

  • Upload or download documents and photos.
  • Create, edit, or delete folders.
  • View information about a user's data.

This documentation contains the following sections:

..."

I've been looking for a cool and easy way to store application settings, etc, in "the Cloud". I want my apps to be local, but their settings stored in a central, web accessible, repository. Or have the capability to sync their settings between the different machines (using a central web based repository as a proxy). But I don't want it to be hard, yet I want a users data to be secure. Oh and I want it free of course... ;)

Well the Windows Live Application Based Storage API (WLABS) seems like just the thing for me. At least at first glance. I need to check this out in some more depth when I get a chance.

Tie this with WCF 3.5 (and its built in ATOM support) and I think I may have a winner...

(via Technology Talks - Windows Live 4 developers)

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