Google Apps Developer Tools

Home
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Google Apps
Google App Engine
Google Web Toolkit
Gadgets API
Google Visualization API
Google Secure Data Connector
Google Apps APIs

Google Apps

What is Google Apps?

Google Apps is Google's software-as-a-service offering for business messaging, collaboration, and security. Businesses of all sizes are using Google Apps to keep their employees connected, to improve their productivity, and to reduce IT costs. Google Apps includes:

Gmail for unified email, instant messaging, and voice and video chat
Google Calendar for getting people together easily
Google Docs for collaboration without the hassle of attachments
Google Sites for creating rich web sites without writing code
Google Video for secure, private video sharing

How do I sign up for Google Apps?

Visit our Google Apps signup page to get started with a free 30-day trial or contact our sales team.

This didn't answer my question. Where can I find more information?

Visit the Google Apps Help Center to get answers to additional questions.

Google App Engine

What is Google App Engine?: Google App Engine lets you run your web applications on Google's infrastructure. App Engine applications are easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to scale as your traffic and data storage needs grow. With App Engine, there are no servers to maintain: You just upload your application, and it's ready to serve your users. You can share your application with the world, or limit access to members of your organization.

With App Engine, you only pay for what you use. There are no set-up costs and no recurring fees. App Engine costs nothing to get started. All applications can use up to 500 MB of storage and enough CPU and bandwidth to support an efficient app serving around 5 million page views a month, absolutely free. When you enable billing for your application, your free limits are raised, and you only pay for resources you use above the free levels.
What programming languages does Google App Engine support?: App Engine apps can be written in the Python or Java languages. The App Engine Java SDK and runtime are currently in a limited trusted tester release.

For security reasons, certain libraries our disabled. Also, since App Engine doesn't support writing to disk, some libraries that support this and other functionality are only partially enabled. The App Engine developer's guide provides more detail about each runtime environment. Additionally, your website templates can include JavaScript along with HTML, which allows you to create dynamic apps that take advantage of Ajax programming techniques.
If I write a Java application in App Engine, can I then pick it up and run it elsewhere?: Yes. App Engine's Java language support is completely standards-based, which means two things: 1) you can write your app without using a single App Engine-specific API; and 2) you can pick up your app and deploy it to any other standard J2EE servlet container -- e.g., IBM WebSphere, Tomcat, WebLogic and others -- without any significant code changes.

During App Engine's "early look" at Java, however, we encourage developers to first check the list of currently implemented Java APIs and libraries before porting their application.
Can I take an existing Java application and run it on App Engine?: Yes. App Engine's Java language support is completely standards-based, so if your application already runs in a standard J2EE servlet container -- e.g., IBM WebSphere, Tomcat, WebLogic, and others -- it should run on App Engine without any significant code changes.

During App Engine's "early look" at Java, however, we encourage developers to first check the list of currently implemented Java APIs and libraries before porting their application.
How do I restrict access to my App Engine app to my Google Apps users?: Read these instructions to learn how to configure your app's authentication to do this.
How do I deploy an App Engine app to my Google Apps domain?: Read this article to learn how to deploy an application to any domain that you own.
How do I use Secure Data Connector in my App Engine app?: Read this tutorial to learn how to use SDC to access behind-the-firewall data from an App Engine app.
This didn't answer my question. Where can I find more information?: You can find answers to additional questions in the App Engine FAQ and in the App Engine discussion group.

Google Web Toolkit

What is Google Web Toolkit?: Writing AJAX apps today is a tedious and error-prone process. In fact, developers can spend 90% of their time wrestling with browser quirks, brittle code bases and AJAX components. Google Web Toolkit (GWT) eases this burden and maximizes productivity by enabling developers to build, maintain and optimize complex JavaScript apps using Java.
How is Google Web Toolkit integrated with App Engine?: App Engine and Google Web Toolkit are integrated through the Google Plugin for Eclipse, the latter being a popular development environment (IDE) among Java developers. Together, they enable developers to write front- and back-end code in a single language, within a single IDE.
What does the Google plugin for Eclipse let me do?: It enables 1-click project creation inside the familiar Eclipse IDE, quick access to GWT's extensive AJAX libraries, and push-button App Engine deployment to Google's infrastructure. In short, it's the lynch pin for our end-to-end Java solution.
This didn't answer my question. Where can I find more information?: You can find answers to additional questions in the GWT discussion group.

Gadgets API

What are gadgets?: Gadgets are simple applications that can be embedded in webpages and other apps. Gadgets are a convenient way to aggregate content from around the web and to perform simple tasks like managing a to-do list. For developers, gadgets are easy to create with basic HTML and JavaScript. Tens of thousands of developers have built gadgets, and today tens of millions of people use gadgets every week in Google Apps, on iGoogle, and on other sites across the web.
Where can I embed gadgets in Google Apps?: Gadgets can be embedded in most applications including: Google Docs spreadsheets, Google Sites, Google Calendar, Gmail (available in Labs).
What are private gadgets?: Private gadgets are gadgets that are only visible to members of your Google Apps domain. Previously, gadgets had to be public, which meant anyone who knew the URL could view the source code. Now domain admins can upload gadgets to Google Apps, and only members of their domain will be able to see and add these gadgets. You can find these gadgets in a directory with your company's domain name in the gadgets gallery.

Currently, private gadgets are only available only in Google Sites and only for Google Apps Premier Edition customers. Visit the Help Center to find more information about setting up a private directory for your company.
How do I create gadgets?: Start by visiting the documentation and read through the "Getting Started" guide. You can create a gadget using any text editor. We also have a beta version of a private gadget editor, which you can get access to here.
How do I use the Google Secure Data Connector in my gadgets?: Read this tutorial to learn how to use SDC in a gadget. Currently, only gadgets in Google Sites allow this.
This didn't answer my question. Where can I find more information?: You can find answers to additional questions in the gadgets FAQ and in the gadgets discussion group.