Hello, I will soon be launching a very simple API to compliment my very simple site, Shrten.com -The site offers a URL shortening service with similar functionality to TinyURL.COM but has left out everything which isn't absolutely required - simplicity is key here. The API will be very simple and can be used by simply calling a URL with one or two parameters; this page will then simply generate and display the shortened URL (most probably in a number of formats). I am basically looking for a bunch of people who would be happy giving it a spin - whether that means implementing it into an existing project of yours or just having a little play around with a few lines of code. Unfortunately I will not be offering anything in return. Basically, if you have a spare 5 minutes and would like to try it out then I'd really appreciate the help. Just drop me a message via this thread if you're interested and Ill let you all know from there. Regards Michael
I just tried it. You can't use a site without www For example: google.com says it's invalid, you gotta use www.google.com, and that's one thing to change IMO.
@ Sanma - Sorry about that - I was busy playing around with some of the settings and accidentally commented out the wrong line Should be working now. @ invisibleII - Actually yes, you're probably right. If I could move it I would. Thanks So then, anyone interested in doing some beta testing?
Brilliant! The more the better I will be sending out info about where and how to get started in a couple of days.
Im glad you like it. This type of service is particularly useful when using Twitter - No long URLs taking up your 140 character limit then.
Okay, The basics for the API is up and running... Heres how you use it... Simply call the URL as shown below and specify your URL parameter. The result will be the Shrten URL which you can then use however you like. The response is available either as plain text or as XML - See here for some examples.... Plain text response XML response A very simple implementation example of the API in PHP <?php $urls = array('http://www.google.com', 'http://www.yahoo.com', 'http://forums.digitalpoint.com'); foreach($urls AS $key=>$value) { echo @file_get_contents("http://shrten.com/api?url=" . $urls[$key]) . "<br/>"; } ?> PHP: Any questions or troubles, don't hesitate to get in touch. Also check out http://shrten.com/api Test, test and test some more. If you decide to build this functionality into any working applications then let me know - I would love to see them. Regards Michael