Java orkut client, OAuth keys problems.

Question

Hi All,

I am going through the Read Me file of orkut java client, as I am trying to write a orkut standalone application in java. But,

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Point #3 (under usage section) of Read Me says that :-

Get OAuth keys for your app

Before you can start using the API or run the sample given here, you need to get the OAuth consumer key and secret. Please visit the following URL for instructions on registering your app and getting an OAuth consumer key and secret.

http://code.google.com/apis/accounts/docs/RegistrationForWebAppsAuto.html#new

The consumer key is usually your site url, e.g. "my.site.com", while the consumer secret is a cryptographically secure random string e.g. "Masdsadl213mzza0Y/l"

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From where, and how to get these OAuth keys for my standalone test application. Also, Registering your web application section, says that, we can also write an unregistered application.

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Point #4 (under usage section) of Read Me says that :-

Install the keys for use by sample app

The OAuth related details are stored in java/sample/oauth.properties

Edit the file and enter the consumer key and secret in there. Leave everything else untouched.

consumerSecret= consumerKey=

To test if your keys are valid and everything is fine, run the following command from your console.

cd java/ ant test-auth

This would open an OAuth flow, by opening a browser window. Once you are through that flow, you should see this messsage on the console.

"* Authentication PASSED *"

If you see the above message, then you are ready to run other samples. On the other hand, if you see a stack trace or some other error message, then 3-legged OAuth failed.

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But, if I am not providing values for the two properties, build is getting failed. How to get test values for these two properties for my personal orkut java standalone test client ,or, it is possible to run the standalone app without these values.

Cheers :)

Answer 1

I have never used Orkut standalone client before, but I can tell you that if you want to access data from Orkut, like any other platforms, there'll need to have an authorization process (to prevent eavesdroppers and hackers stealing "precious" information).

OAuth basically allows client API's to authorize the end-user from retrieving data without passing confidential credentials such as email/password fields. I don't think you'll ever retrieve confidential (orkut data) anywhere else.

Facebook, Twitter, etc., can allow developers to access public data, such as search but personal data requires authorization, hence why OAuth.

I don't think it's wise to run Orkut without some kind of authorization scheme.