Given the scripting nature of the web non-obfuscated JavaScript code presents itself to the technical user almost as a public API. You can try it out yourself by writing:
for (x in document){console.log(x);}
in your browser JavaScript console. For more persistent changes to a sites behavior tools like Greasemonkey can be used. Last.fm and Spotify have done some integration by releasing a Greasemonkey script for last.fm.
By using fiddler or Firefox Firebug you can watch the client/server interaction (ajax calls made by a modern web app). The stateless nature of the web and ajax calls promotes a simple design of this “API”. This means that programming/scripting against your site can be easily done by, hopefully authorized, users.
Modern web applications have a natural interface for that might yield a plugin-like api unintended by the applications developers. If you’re developing/maintaining a web app, try searching for it on userscripts. If your app is used by a wide group of people, then you might be surprised with what you find.
Do you want to send a comment or give me a hint about any issues with a blog post: Open up an issue on GitHub.
Do you want to fix an error or add a comment published on the blog? You can do a fork of this post and do a pull request on github.
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