Create Slick Spreadsheet Mashups in Google Docs
Webmonkey reader and mashup creator extraordinaire Tony Hirst recently sent us an e-mail pointing out two great new mashup he’s been working on. Both of his latest mashups use Google Docs to pull and sort data from various web services using spreadsheets, rather than custom API clients, to work with the data.
The example shown above uses the New York Times Campaign Data API to pull campaign finance info into the Google Spreadsheet. The other is a mashup showing some ways to use Amazon Web Services in Google Docs.
The common theme between the two is that pulling outside data into Google Docs is pretty damn easy, even if you’re not a programming ninja. The secret is using the importXML function that’s part of the Google Spreadsheets API.
For more details, check out Hirst’s blog posts — one on the Amazon version and one on the New York Times example.
I’ll admit that for me, working with spreadsheets is far more intimidating than writing a whole API client, and Hirst claims to be in the same boat saying “I���ve never really been one for using spreadsheets - I���d rather write code in a text environment than macros and formulae in a Microsoft environment.”
However, if you’re familiar with Spreadsheets and are looking to push the envelope with web services, Hirst’s write ups make an excellent starting point.
Also be sure to check out some Hirst’s previous mashups which allow you to turn Google Maps into a blogging tool or plot your Google Calendar schedule out on a map.
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