Skype Public APIs and Developer Services

eBay Developers Conference 2007

Peeter MõtskülaTechnical Services ManagerSkype Developer Program

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Question:What do the numbers “196 million”, “Five thousand” and “One” stand for?

Answer:196 million registered usersFive thousand developer program membersOne Skype Ecosystem

Skype Public APIs

• Skype Client API• Skype4COM• Skype4Java• Skype Extras SDK• Skype Web API-s

Skype Client API

• Simple protocol– Commands– Responses– Notifications

• Provided by the Skype Client– Win: Windows messaging– OSX: Cocoa, Carbon, AppleScript– Linux: X11 messaging, D-BUS

• User must authorize API access• https://developer.skype.com/Docs/ApiDoc

Skype4COM

• Represents the Skype API as objects, with properties, commands, events, and notifications

– Requires the Skype Client to be running• Currently available on Windows only

for ActiveX environments such as:– Visual Studio or Delphi– Visual Basic, PHP, or Javascript

• https://developer.skype.com/Docs/Skype4COM

Skype4Java

• Java library that represents the Skype API as objects, with properties, commands, events, and notifications

– Requires the Skype Client to be running• Enables developers to create cross-platform

Skype extras• An open-source project maintained by Koji

Hisano (Ubion Inc.) and Bart Lamot withsupport from Skype

• https://developer.skype.com/wiki/Java_API

Skype Extras SDK

• A toolkit to turn your applications into Skype Extras that can be included into the Do More menu of Skype Client

– Publishing Studio– Extras SDK

• A DRM engine that allows you to sell your products for Skype Credits

• Currently available on Windows only• https://developer.skype.com/Docs/Extras/Resources

Skype Web APIs

• Controlling the Skype Client– skype:[targets][?query]

• Controlling the Skype Extras Manager– skype-plugin:command[?parameters]

• Accessing Skype user's presence– http://mystatus.skype.com/SkypeUserName

[.parameters]• https://developer.skype.com/Docs/Web

Skype Developer Services

• Technical Services– Developer Support– Software Certification

• Go-to-market Services– Extras Gallery and Extras Manager– Premium / Featured Placement

Community Support

• Key points:– Free of charge– Public communication– SLA: best effort

• Available resources:– Online documentation, developer downloads,

sample code, forums, public issue tracker, knowledge base

• https://developer.skype.com/Support

Professional Support

• Key points:– Private and confidential communication– SLA target: next business day response

and three business days resolution*– €150 to €300 per incident*

• Note:– Bug reports and feature requests are handled

free of charge and without resolution time target• https://developer.skype.com/Support#

ProfessionalSupport

Software Certification

• Key points:– Two goals: promotion and quality assurance– Eligibility for Premium and Featured placement– €500 per full test, one support voucher per quick

test for updates• Skype Certified:

– A product becomes Skype Certified when it passes the full test

– A product remains Skype Certified for 12 months from the last successful test or until a new version is released that no longer meets the certification requirements

• https://developer.skype.com/Certification/Software

Certification Process

• Submit a Software Certification Request including:– Completed self-certification checklist– Installation package of your product– Your choice of test type (full or quick) ‏

• Pay the testing fee or buy support voucher(s) ‏• We'll queue your product for testing• The result is either PASS or FAIL

(with failure reasons explained) ‏• https://developer.skype.com/Certification/Software/OverView

Test Specifications

• All tests are done against:– The latest production release of test specifications– The latest Gold release of applicable Skype Client

• Test specifications are updated twice a year– Current production version: 7.01 (since Jan 07)– Coming up next: 7.07 (becomes effective in July)– You can (and should!) contribute

• https://developer.skype.com/Certification/Software/TestSpecs

Extras Gallery & Extras Manager

• Skype helps you to distribute your software– Skype Extras*

• In the Skype Client via Do More menus• On the Web via Skype Extras Gallery

– All other applications• On the Web via Skype Extras Gallery

• Note– Skype Extras are available on Windows only

• https://extras.skype.com

Premium / Featured placement

• “Best of breed” applications– Your product must be Skype Certified in order to

be eligible for Premium or Featured placement• Significantly higher penetration

– Premium Extras are shown in the Do More menu of Skype Client by default

– Premium and Featured product offerings are rotated at the top of Extras Gallery

• Revenue sharing– You give some, you get some

Q&A

Peeter P. Mõtsküla

skype:ppmotskula

https://developer.skype.com/

What next?Visit https://developer.skype.comto read the API documentation, request technical support, or submit your product for certification testing.

Questions?To learn more, visit pages.ebay.com/devcon/

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