Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

12-2008

Abstract

This paper investigates the structure and dynamics of the Web 2.0 software ecosystem by analyzing empirical data on web service APIs and mashups. Using network analysis tools to visualize the growth of the ecosystem from December 2005 to 2007, we find that the APIs are organized into three tiers, and that mashups are often formed by combining APIs across tiers. Plotting the cumulative distribution of mashups to APIs reveals a power-law relationship, although the tail is short compared to previously reported distributions of book and movie sales. While this finding highlights the dominant role played by the most popular APIs in the mashup ecosystem, additional evidence reveals the importance of less popular APIs in weaving the ecosystem’s rich network structure.

Keywords

API, Long tail, Mashup, Power law, Small world, Social network

Discipline

Computer Sciences | Databases and Information Systems

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Publication

Service-Oriented Computing: ICSOC 2008 Workshops, Sydney, Australia, December 1, 2008

Volume

5472

First Page

136

Last Page

147

ISBN

9783642012464

Identifier

10.1007/978-3-642-01247-1_13

Publisher

Springer

City or Country

Heidelberg

Embargo Period

3-23-2017

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01247-1_13

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