Google Hacks is a collection of industrial-strength, real-world, tested solutions to practical problems. This concise book offers a variety of interesting ways for power users to mine the enormous amount of information that Google has access to, and helps you have fun while doing it. You'll learn clever and powerful methods for using the advanced search interface and the new Google API, including how to build and modify scripts that can become custom business applications based on Google. Google Hacks contains 100 tips, tricks and scripts that you can use to become instantly more effective in your research. Each hack can be read in just a few minutes, but can save hours of searching for the right answers.
Google™ threw its hat into the ring in 1998. The second incarnation of a search engine service known as BackRub, the name "Google" was a play on the word "googol," a one followed by a hundred zeros. From the beginning, Google was different from the other major search engines online—AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, and others.
Was it the technology? Partially. The relevance of Google's search results was outstanding and worthy of comment. But more than that, Google's focus and more human face made it stand out online.
With its friendly presentation and its constantly expanding set of options, it's no surprise that Google continues to get lots of fans. There are weblogs devoted to it. Search engine newsletters, such as ResearchBuzz, spend a lot of time covering Google. Legions of devoted fans spend lots of time uncovering documented features, creating games (like Google whacking) and even coining new words (like "Googling," the practice of checking out a prospective date or hire via Google's search engine.)
In April 2002, Google reached out to its fan base by offering the Google API. The Google API gives developers a legal way to access the Google search results with automated queries (any other way of accessing Google's search results with automated software is against Google's Terms of Service.)