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Can anyone tell me what the "salesforce" API is? And what they do? I'm a little interested, but honestly don't know what the hell they bring to the table, all

Can anyone tell me what the "salesforce" API is? And what they do? I'm a little interested, but honestly don't know what the hell they bring to the table, all I've been able to find to describe what they do is business jargon

dradtke 13y ago
Salesforce is an online CRM tool and development platform. From a programmer's point of view, it essentially includes the full stack from database to UI, but the API can be used to allow external programs to access its data. That said, as a development platform, Salesforce is definitely a second-class citizen to being a CRM, and I wouldn't recommend using it unless you need a very specific type of application.
- Jd 13y ago
  That's true but the platform has come a long way since inception and you get instant integration into the CRM data and SFDC customers. It's obviously not the platform of choice from the developer preference side, but there can be business logic that demands it (I've seen some fairly successful startups build native SFDC apps, even contributed some code).
infinitone 13y ago
I interned at salesforce. They have quite a few products so its hard to say what is they do in one sentence. But their target market is basically enterprise, they provide cloud infrastructure, they provide employee performance app (work.com - previously was startup Rypple they acquired). Their core product is the CRM (customer relation management) which is not really CRM now but more of a platform that you can add 3rd party apps to (such as work.com). Other products is a yammer-like thing called chatter (not a fan of it) but they give it out as a freebie last i checked. Summed up, i would say they are like the iOS/appstore platform but on the cloud and only for businesses. So i can use it to track my customers then i can add an app that does appointment scheduling for me for those customers, for example.
- epa 13y ago
  That was probably the worst explanation i have ever heard, except for the last sentence.
  - hardwaresofton 13y ago
    I have to agree, but although I got nothing but the first paragraph (kinda like the website), last sentence was a HUGE help
sailfast 13y ago
They have a number of different APIs and services that allow you to access their CRM and ERP products, as well as manipulate data with their services. Most of their products are geared toward supporting enterprise clients, but they can be extended to a number of different use cases. Integrating Chatter (chat) with CRM to help support customers over mobile all run on a dyno. (or some such). Let's also remember that they own Heroku, and that only 25% of the prize is about using their APIs (though I have a feeling that will be weighted more heavily).
xn 13y ago
They have a handful of APIs, but the REST API (http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api_rest/index.htm http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api_rest/index.h...) provides the services you would most likely be using in building a new app. The REST API allows you to retrieve metadata for a relational data model and to perform CRUD operations. The data model itself is typically created through Salesforce's web interface, although there is a Metadata API that can be used to manage the schema by uploading XML files. There are standard objects (think database tables) for things like Users, Accounts, Contacts, Task, Events, Leads, and Opportunities (note Salesforce's history as a CRM application) which you can extend with custom fields, and you can create custom objects, and define the relationships between objects. You can also expose custom server-side functionality as a REST endpoint by writing code in Apex, a java-like language, that runs on Salesforce's platform. This can be useful for dealing with multiple records in a single transaction, for example. The Apex code can also be managed through the Metadata API, the Tooling API, or the web interface. (Salesforce pretty much never deprecates old APIs so you can still use the version of the SOAP API you were using five years ago, for example. But this can also be confusing to new developers who find there's a lot of overlap between the old SOAP API and the newer REST API, and a little bit of overlap between the old Metadata API and the new Tooling API.) One of the unique features of the Salesforce platform is a robust security model. Each object has row- and field-level security that can be configured through the web interface. This is particularly useful for apps used by large organizations. Different types of uses can have access to different fields. Ownership of records can role to the management within an individual's national division, for example. Your app doesn't have to enforce security. You call the API as the user, using an OAuth token, and see the data to which the user has access. Another unique feature of the platform is that it is licensed per user. You don't scale by adding VMs or containers. It's nice to not have to think about scaling hardware, but most developers would probably rather think about scaling problems than ponder all of the convoluted licensing options Salesforce offers, much less talk to a sales rep. As a developer of an app for distribution to multiple customers, you also have to be cognizant of the various types of orgs (a company's Salesforce instance) in which your app might be installed. If you're building a standalone app that doesn't need to be installed alongside customers' Salesforce CRM apps, and just want to take advantage of Salesforce's data modeling, security model, and API, you can use database.com, which has more developer-friendly pricing (in terms of transparency, not necessarily impact on your wallet).
hardwaresofton 13y ago
Does anyone know an open-source alternative to salesforce? It seems like it should exist. [EDIT] - nevermind: http://www.x2engine.com http://www.x2engine.com

dradtke 13y ago

Salesforce is an online CRM tool and development platform. From a programmer's point of view, it essentially includes the full stack from database to UI, but the API can be used to allow external programs to access its data. That said, as a development platform, Salesforce is definitely a second-class citizen to being a CRM, and I wouldn't recommend using it unless you need a very specific type of application.

Jd 13y ago
That's true but the platform has come a long way since inception and you get instant integration into the CRM data and SFDC customers. It's obviously not the platform of choice from the developer preference side, but there can be business logic that demands it (I've seen some fairly successful startups build native SFDC apps, even contributed some code).

infinitone 13y ago

I interned at salesforce. They have quite a few products so its hard to say what is they do in one sentence. But their target market is basically enterprise, they provide cloud infrastructure, they provide employee performance app (work.com - previously was startup Rypple they acquired). Their core product is the CRM (customer relation management) which is not really CRM now but more of a platform that you can add 3rd party apps to (such as work.com). Other products is a yammer-like thing called chatter (not a fan of it) but they give it out as a freebie last i checked. Summed up, i would say they are like the iOS/appstore platform but on the cloud and only for businesses. So i can use it to track my customers then i can add an app that does appointment scheduling for me for those customers, for example.

epa 13y ago
That was probably the worst explanation i have ever heard, except for the last sentence.
- hardwaresofton 13y ago
  I have to agree, but although I got nothing but the first paragraph (kinda like the website), last sentence was a HUGE help

sailfast 13y ago

They have a number of different APIs and services that allow you to access their CRM and ERP products, as well as manipulate data with their services. Most of their products are geared toward supporting enterprise clients, but they can be extended to a number of different use cases. Integrating Chatter (chat) with CRM to help support customers over mobile all run on a dyno. (or some such). Let's also remember that they own Heroku, and that only 25% of the prize is about using their APIs (though I have a feeling that will be weighted more heavily).

xn 13y ago

They have a handful of APIs, but the REST API (http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api_rest/index.htm http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api_rest/index.h...) provides the services you would most likely be using in building a new app. The REST API allows you to retrieve metadata for a relational data model and to perform CRUD operations. The data model itself is typically created through Salesforce's web interface, although there is a Metadata API that can be used to manage the schema by uploading XML files. There are standard objects (think database tables) for things like Users, Accounts, Contacts, Task, Events, Leads, and Opportunities (note Salesforce's history as a CRM application) which you can extend with custom fields, and you can create custom objects, and define the relationships between objects. You can also expose custom server-side functionality as a REST endpoint by writing code in Apex, a java-like language, that runs on Salesforce's platform. This can be useful for dealing with multiple records in a single transaction, for example. The Apex code can also be managed through the Metadata API, the Tooling API, or the web interface. (Salesforce pretty much never deprecates old APIs so you can still use the version of the SOAP API you were using five years ago, for example. But this can also be confusing to new developers who find there's a lot of overlap between the old SOAP API and the newer REST API, and a little bit of overlap between the old Metadata API and the new Tooling API.) One of the unique features of the Salesforce platform is a robust security model. Each object has row- and field-level security that can be configured through the web interface. This is particularly useful for apps used by large organizations. Different types of uses can have access to different fields. Ownership of records can role to the management within an individual's national division, for example. Your app doesn't have to enforce security. You call the API as the user, using an OAuth token, and see the data to which the user has access. Another unique feature of the platform is that it is licensed per user. You don't scale by adding VMs or containers. It's nice to not have to think about scaling hardware, but most developers would probably rather think about scaling problems than ponder all of the convoluted licensing options Salesforce offers, much less talk to a sales rep. As a developer of an app for distribution to multiple customers, you also have to be cognizant of the various types of orgs (a company's Salesforce instance) in which your app might be installed. If you're building a standalone app that doesn't need to be installed alongside customers' Salesforce CRM apps, and just want to take advantage of Salesforce's data modeling, security model, and API, you can use database.com, which has more developer-friendly pricing (in terms of transparency, not necessarily impact on your wallet).

hardwaresofton 13y ago

Does anyone know an open-source alternative to salesforce? It seems like it should exist. [EDIT] - nevermind: http://www.x2engine.com http://www.x2engine.com