Web developers can get to the question and answer site, Yahoo Answers, through an application programming interface recently made available on the Yahoo Developer Network.
A post on the Yahoo Search Blog by Quy Le, Product Manager, Yahoo! Answers, noted some potential uses for the API:
Using this API, you can access Answers content by user, search keyword, or category. These API’s are almost identical to what Yahoo! properties use, and we hope that you’ll think of new and interesting ways to view and use all the info on Yahoo! Answers.
Web services available through use of the API fall into four areas, as shown on the Developer Network:
questionSearch – Find questions that match your query.
getByCategory – List questions from one of our hundreds of categories, filtered by type. You’ll need the category name or ID, which you can get from questionSearch.
getQuestion – Found an interesting question? getQuestion lists all the details for every answer to the question ID you specify, including the best answer, if it’s been chosen. Get that question ID from questionSearch or getByCategory.
getByUser – List questions from specific users on Yahoo! Answers. You’ll need the user id, which you can get from any of the other services listed above.
The release of the API follows Yahoo’s release of a Flash Answers badge back in June. That badge provides an easy way for bloggers and site publishers to show off their latest contributions to Yahoo Answers.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
