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Developer Qualification

Study Guides

Google distinguishes both individuals and companies as Google Qualified Developers. You can use this Study Guide to help prepare for the qualification exams.
  1. Open Source Gadgets API
  2. Gadget Ads API
  3. JavaScript Maps API

General Gadgets

The Open Source Gadget Exam covers the Open source Gadget API and the following topics. For more information on these topics, visit the Google Gadget Center.

  • Policy questions pertain to issues surrounding gadget policy, including malware, copyright, legal vs illegal content, and other policy concerns.
  • Technical
    • XML Structure questions pertain to Gadget Preferences, User Preferences, and Content Sections as well as other XML issues.
    • JavaScript questions pertain to feature-specific JavaScript libraries used in general gadget development, including issues concerning _IG_Prefs() and other "_IG_" functions, API libraries, RSS feeds, wrapper methods, data types, and other JavaScript coding issues. Note, in this release we are still including _IG_Fetch*() questions, soon to be replaced by API updates.
    • Request Parameters questions pertain to gadgets with a type="url" content type, including issues such as request parameters, JSON, synd, and UserPref data and values. Note, in this release we are still including _IG_Fetch*() questions, soon to be replaced by API updates.
  • Best Practices
    • JavaScript questions ask about good coding styles, code efficiency, compliance considerations, and other JavaScript best practices.
    • Debugging questions ask about testing gadgets, common bugs, debugging tools, library functions, support resources and other debugging best practices.
    • UX and Effectiveness questions ask about issues surrounding blog gadgets, encoding support, logos, sizing, latency, message bundles, disclaimers, i18n/L10N support, and other user experience and effectiveness best practices.
    • Maintenance questions probe issues such bandwidth, caching, distribution, naming, hosting, updates and other maintenance best practices.

Gadget Ads

The Gadget Ads Exam covers the Gadget Ads API and issues specific to creating a Google Gadget Ad. For more information on these topics, visit the the Google Gadget Ads Center.

  • Gadgets Ads vs iGoogle Gadgets questions pertain to the difference between Gadget Ads and iGoogle Gadgets, including the differences in using <ModulePrefs>, content types, <Required feature>, file size, interaction and click-through tracking, and embedded resource caching.
  • AdSense Policies questions pertain to AdSense policies specific to Gadget Ads development, such as issues of concern to the approvals team, cookie issues, and file size restrictions. Includes issues surrounding both Online Approval as well as Site Content..
  • AdWords questions pertain to Adwords concerns specific to Gadget Ads development, such as Costs and Billing, content restrictions, and destination URLs
  • Branding questions pertain to Branding issues specific to Gadget Ads development, including the use of branded content and images.
  • Rich Media IAB questions concern such issues as IAB ad sizes, the use of audio, and length of animation.
  • Gadget Ads API-Embedding Flash questions concern the use of embedded flash content, hosting, and caching as well as the use of variables within the flash file, SWF version, and issues regarding the use of ActionScript3.
  • Gadget Ads API
    • Caching Assets questions relate to requirements for using the gadget proxy, updates to cached objects, embedding external JavaScript and CSS style sheets, and caching of external resources.
    • Interaction and Click-through Tracking questions concern requirements regarding interaction and click-through tracking, the use of the interaction and click-through API, creating HTML links for tracking click-throughs, interaction labels, registering interactions, and interaction tracking call parameters.
    • Streaming Videos questions pertain to the types of videos that are allowed in Gadget Ads, the use of flash (FLV) videos and generating FLV URLs.
  • Best Practices
    • Debugging questions pertain to debugging issues specific to Gadget Ads development, such as the differences with Gadget Ads, issues with flash, verifications around click-throughs, and using GGAE.
    • UX and Effectiveness questions pertain to Gadget Ads Expert / Best Practices - User Experience and Effectiveness issues specific to Gadget Ads development.
    • Maintenance questions pertain to issues such as what happens when your ad is successful, managing bandwidth issues, caching.

JavaScript Maps API

The JavaScript Maps Exam covers the JavaScript Maps API. For more information on these topics, visit the the Google Maps API documentation.

  • Core Objects
    • API Key
    • DOM Elements
    • Defining the map: GMap2
    • Initializing the map and referencing locations: GLatLng, GLatLngBounds
  • Map Control Objects: gControl class
    • Panning
    • Zooming
    • GOverviewMap
    • Modifying Standard Controls: Changing and adding Map Types
    • Creating Custom Controls: assigning prototype objects to the GControl instance, defining handlers for initialize() and getDefaultPosition() methods
  • User Data Objects: click events, listeners, info windows, overlays
    • Markers: GMarker, GIcon
    • Info Windows
    • Creating overlays: Drawing polylines with GPolyline, GPolygon, GGroundOverlay
    • Creating tile and tile layer overlays
  • Events
    • Event Listeners
    • DOM Events
    • GMarker Events
  • Services and AJAX
    • DHTML and AJAX
    • XML and data parsing: GXmlHttp
    • Geocoder Web Services
    • Street View objects
    • Google Earth Integration
    • Local Search
    • GeoRSS Overlays
      • Basic KML
        • Place marks
        • Icons
        • Folders
        • Descriptive HTML
        • KMZ (compressed KML, including attached images)
        • Polylines and polygons
        • Styles for polylines and polygons, including color, fill, and opacity + 3D extruded columns
        • Network links to import data dynamically
        • Ground overlays and screen overlays
        • Importing GIS data
        • Using KML Touring
    • Traffic Overlays
    • Directions
  • UI/UX/Best Practices
    • markers (size/shape/color/anchor/state/quantity)
    • info window (control, overlay, bubble)
    • browser compatibility
    • character encoding
    • XHTML and VML
    • Memory Leaks
    • Upgrades/Updates
    • Localization
  • Troubleshooting