Google Deprecates Their SOAP Search API

By way of Slashdot, I just read on O'Reilly Radar that Google is deprecating their SOAP Search API in favor of their AJAX API.  I've been using The Google API for some time on on one of my ColdFusion sites.    The beauty of their SOAP API is it enabled me to process the results server side, which is probably one of the reasons Google made the move, since Google is all about branding.  Evidently the TOS of the AJAX API is considerably more restrictive.

There doesn't appear to be a crossdomain.xml for the AJAX API, so Google's business decision is also bad news for Flash developers wishing to embed the search results since according to the FAQ, the AJAX Search API is the only permissible way to publish Google AJAX Search API results on your site.

Google's decision will end up being a boon for the current underdogs in the search world such as Yahoo and Live.  Yahoo has a REST API as well as a crossdomain.xml file in their API directory. and while MSN's Live Search doesn't have a crossdomain.xml, MSN does have a SOAP API. 

It's the result that matters, not how it was obtained.  While Google may have a larger index, both Yahoo and Live are comparable to Google in the top results returned.  Most web developers will choose the path that gives them the greatest creative choice.   I don't mind a small "Powered by" logo, but I do object to being forced into becoming a branded affiliate.