Facebook Client Library built on Script#

While developing Facebook.NET, it was on the back of my mind to create a script library equivalent in script# for client-side only interaction with the Facebook REST API using the existing JSONP interface to their REST service. I didn't do it yet for security reasons, as it would require sending down both the application key and secret to the client (something that existing Flash and Silverlight examples unfortunately and incorrectly show). Instead I opt'd for creating a Facebook Proxy service that allows your client code to talk to facebook via your service in an almost transparent manner. Those of you who have downloaded Facebook.NET can see a sample of this.

Now Facebook is offering a client-side SDK. Wei Zhu blogged about the JavaScript Client Library for the Facebook API on the official developer blog last Friday. If you're a Facebook application developer, you'll want to check this out.

Wei Zhu has been a long-time supporter of Script#, and it makes me super excited to see that the library itself was coded in Script#, and also uses the Script# runtime as part of its implementation. I am sure Script# usage resulted in some substantial productivity gains, and makes me hopeful that this will spike some more interest in the technology. Its also exciting to see the potential for a number of Facebook apps built on top of this. I am hopeful that Facebook will eventually release the .dll version of the script, so other downstream users of Script# will be able to directly reference these APIs in their C# code, without having to create a stub metadata dll

I also chatted with Wei during the weekend about possible security implications. It looks like they've thought through the implications. Specifically, you only need to publish the API key (which is public anyway), and the client library connects with Facebook to generate a temporary user-session scoped secret using some new services, so you don't have to publish your actual secret. Nice!