Google Sites
is a SaaS offering a simple web page editor plus 10 GB free family web space →
Google sites.
Google Sites competes with Microsoft Office Live Workspace.
Drawback: There is no way to write or import html-code directly.
Google Docs
is a SaaS offering a simple text editor plus a good spreadsheet program together with generous free web space. All documents can be shared with other Google Docs users but it is unclear what comes out when 2 persons edit the same document at the same time . When you view the HTML-source codes you will detect that both the text editor and the spreadsheet program convert your input into an incredibly big and complicated html-file.
There is a good "Print Preview" that converts everything into a raster image.
Drawback: You cannot upload other file types than GoogleDoc.
See:
Google Documents,
Wikipedia: Google Docs,
Welcome to Google Docs
Google AppEngine
is the name of Google's cloud PaaS to write and run user web applications. There is a Python and a Java development kit: App Engine SDK.
For debugging and testing, AppEngine is able to simulate the server on the developer's local computer.
After writing and local testing you can upload and run your web application under the free (up to 10 apps, 500 MB altogether) www.appspot.com domain.
See: What Is Google App Engine?
| Preliminaries | |
| 1) Download | Eclipse-Java-Galileo_SR1 and unzip it to C:\Progam Files. |
| 2) Create |
a workspace "C:\temp\eclipse\workspace". Check "Use this as the default and do not ask again". |
| 3) Shortcut | Windows Explorer → Right click: C:\Program Files\eclipse\eclipse.exe → Send to → Desctop (create shortcut). |
| 4) Start | Eclipse using the shortcut. Select a workspace: C:\temp\eclipse\workspace. Check: Use this as the default and do not ask again |
| 5) Install | the Google Plugin for Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) by following those Installation Instructions.
The last step Software Updates can take several minutes! Restart Eclipse. Remove the welcome screen. |
| 6) Apply | for a Google services account on Google's cloud infrastructure. |
| First Application | |
| 1) Follow | the second chapter of the User's Guide: Creating a New Web Application. Choose an individual and unique project name such as "myname-webapp01". |
| 2) Follow | the third chapter of the User's Guide: Running and Debugging. |
| Deploy | the first application into the Google cloud. |
| 1) Sign in | with your Google services account. A Google app engine My Applications list will appear (that may be empty at first). |
| 2) Create | an Application "myname-webapp01". |
| 3) Deploy | myname-webapp01 out of the Eclipse project window by clicking this icon:  |
| 4) Start | the cloud application "http://myname-webapp01.appspot.com/". |
Books:
D. Sanderson: Programming Google App Engine, O'Reilly, Nov. 2009, ISBN 978-0-596-52278-8, p. 380, $ 45.
C. Severance: Using Google App Engine, O'Reilly, May 2009, ISBN 978-0-596-80069-7, p. 262, $ 30.
N. Conner: Google Apps: The Missing Manual, O'Reilly, May 2008, ISBN 978-0-596-51579-9, p. 740, $ 40.
GoogleWave
is a platform that mixes shared GoogleDocs with a the messenger service GoogleTalk together with a developer API.
GoogleWave (still in Beta stage) is a mixture of conversation, translation and shared document services.
Developers can extend and embed the GoogleWave services into their own web applications.
GDrive
Google seems to work on an exciting project: "GDrive provides reliable storage for all of your files, including photos, music and documents. ... GDrive allows you to access your files from anywhere, anytime, and from any device -- be it from your desktop, Web browser, or cellular phone."
See: InformationWeek: Where's Google GDrive?
top of page: |
Google Sites