Client side techniques

Namespace mimic in Javascript (similar to technique used by YUI):

namespace:   function(   sNameSpace, obj   )   {  
    if   (!sNameSpace   ||   !sNameSpace.length)   {  
        return   null;  
    }  
    var   levels   =   sNameSpace.split(".");  
    var   currentNS   =   CGL;  
    //   CGL   is   implied,   so   it   is   ignored   if   it   is   included  
    for   (var   i=(levels[0]   ==   "CGL")   ?   1   :   0;   i<levels.length;   ++i)   { 
        if( arguments.length == 2 && i == levels.length - 1)
	    currentNS[levels[i]]   =   obj;
	else
	    currentNS[levels[i]]   =   currentNS[levels[i]]   ||   {};  
	currentNS   =   currentNS[levels[i]];  
    }
    return   currentNS;  
}

By default, following namespaces are supported:
CGL.mashup.resourcetype:
This object maintains resource types we support. Currently, text, image and video are supported.
CGL.mashup.addr:
This object maintains base path for our applications.
CGL.mashup.sites:
This object maintains all backend sites we support. Currently, Youtube and Flickr are supported.
CGL.mashup.log:
This object maintains request history so that in the future we can reinvoke a certain old request.
CGL.mashup.init:
All initialization work is done here.
CGL.mashup.urlbuilder:
This object provides functions which can ease construction of request URL to access various resources.
CGL.mashup.service:
This object provides functions which send various requests (e.g. get user information) to server side.
CGL.mashup.helper:
This object includes some utility functions.
GL.mashup.htmlformatter:
This object contains functions that can be used to display response in a specific format .
CGL.mashup.jsonresponse:
This object handls JSON responses from server and parses the content.
CGL.mashup.opmapper:
This object maps operation names to concrete function implementations. Callback can be specified as well.

Web2.0 Integration Summary

The server-side architecture is described here:
http://zhenhua-guo.blogspot.com/2008/05/mashup-architecture.html.

Authentication: OpenID which is described here (http://zhenhua-guo.blogspot.com/2008/05/openid.html).
Authorization: Although OAuth seems promising, it has not been supported by large web 2.0 applications. So, I make use of various authorization mechanisms of different applications.

RESTful web services are used instead of SOAP-based web services. URL pattern used to access various resources is described here(http://zhenhua-guo.blogspot.com/2008/05/url-pattern-in-mashup.html).

At client side, Ajax is used to enhance user experience. Client side functionality is described here(http://zhenhua-guo.blogspot.com/2008/06/client-side-techniques.html).