Google courts computer programmers with new tools

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Google was courting computer programmers with new tools to search out software code and imbed slick “gadgets” on Internet web pages.

Google Code Search gave “professional programmers, computer science students and code enthusiasts alike the ability to search over billions of lines of the world’s publicly accessible source code,” the online search titan said.

The freshly launched service tapped into Google’s prowess for retrieving information scattered about the Internet.

Software developers could search using patterns of words or characters as well as basic keywords, according to the Mountain View, California, based company.

“This makes it easier for developers to find sample code and obscure function definitions, which will help them discover code they didn’t know about,” Google said in a release.

A day earlier, “Google Gadgets for your web page” was made available an online tool for customizing web pages with “cool and dynamic content” through the use of small software applications.

“Now anyone can have a great-looking website with automatically updating content,” Google Gadgets “architect” Adam Sah said in a release.

“By making Google Gadgets available for you to add to your webpage, we’re working to connect developers with enthusiastic consumers and to make information universally accessible and useful to the individual user.”

Gadgets can be used for features such as live video feeds, games, news clips, weather reports and interactive maps.

// October 6th, 2006