If you want to consume the Google Analytics API from .NET you essentially have two options. You can use the GData .NET Client library (which doesn't yet officially list Google Analytics as a supported service, but if you browse the source you'll find it). Or you can roll up your sleeves and issue the HTTP GETs and POSTs yourself.

If you're doing the later you might find that this little bit of C# we created could save you some time.

using System;
using System.Collections.Specialized;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net;
using System.ServiceModel.Syndication;
using System.Text;
using System.Web;
using System.Xml;

namespace GoogleAnalytics
{
   public static class Client
   {
      public static string GetAuthorizationToken(string email, string password)
      {
         using (var webClient = new WebClient())
         {
            var nameValueCollection = new NameValueCollection();
            nameValueCollection.Add("Email", email);
            nameValueCollection.Add("Passwd", password);
            nameValueCollection.Add("service", "analytics");

            var response = webClient.UploadValues("https://www.google.com/accounts/ClientLogin", nameValueCollection);
            var values = Encoding.Default.GetString(response).Split('\n');

            return values.First(value => value.StartsWith("Auth=")).Replace("Auth=", String.Empty);
         }
      }

      public static SyndicationFeed GetAccountFeed(string authorizationToken)
      {
         using (var webClient = new WebClient())
         {
            webClient.Headers.Add("GData-Version", "2");
            webClient.Headers.Add("Authorization", String.Format("GoogleLogin Auth={0}", authorizationToken));

            var response = webClient.DownloadString("https://www.google.com/analytics/feeds/accounts/default");

            return SyndicationFeed.Load(XmlReader.Create(new StringReader(response)));
         }
      }

      public static SyndicationFeed GetDataFeed(string authorizationToken, string profileId, DateTime startDate, DateTime endDate, string metrics, string dimensions, string sort, int? maxResults)
      {
         using (var webClient = new WebClient())
         {
            var query = HttpUtility.ParseQueryString(String.Empty);
            query.Add("ids", profileId);
            query.Add("start-date", startDate.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd"));
            query.Add("end-date", endDate.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd"));
            query.Add("metrics", metrics);

            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(dimensions))
            {
               query.Add("dimensions", dimensions);
            }

            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(sort))
            {
               query.Add("sort", sort);
            }

            if (maxResults.HasValue)
            {
               query.Add("max-results", maxResults.Value.ToString());
            }

            var uri = new UriBuilder("https://www.google.com/analytics/feeds/data");
            uri.Query = query.ToString();

            webClient.Headers.Add("GData-Version", "2");
            webClient.Headers.Add("Authorization", String.Format("GoogleLogin Auth={0}", authorizationToken));

            var response = webClient.DownloadString(uri.Uri.AbsoluteUri);

            return SyndicationFeed.Load(XmlReader.Create(new StringReader(response)));
         }
      }
   }
}

We've had the ability to view a stream of tweets on Atlas for a while now. Tweets that match a search query (or the public timeline) are placed on the map based on what the Twitter user specified as their location in their Twitter profile.

The addition of geotagging to the Twitter API provides Atlas with the exact location from where a tweet was made. Now, if Atlas sees a tweet with a geotag we'll use it instead of the user's location specified in their Twitter profile.

As the Twitter Geotagging FAQ points out, "Geotaggging is disabled by default for everyone. You can enable it from the Settings>>Account tab".

The best part of the Closure Compiler is its REST API. Here's 5 lines of C# that will optimize your JavaScript:

using (var webClient = new WebClient())
{
   webClient.Headers.Add("content-type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
   var postData = String.Format("js_code={0}&output_info=compiled_code", HttpUtility.UrlEncode(js));
   js = webClient.UploadString("http://closure-compiler.appspot.com/compile", postData);
}

The Closure Compiler does a slightly better job optimizing our JavaScript than the YUI Compressor, saving about 1.4 KB. However, the real win is the Closure Compiler's REST API which we were able to get up and running in about four lines of C# code. The big advantage with the REST API is there's no JAR file to maintain/deploy and Google can keep the Closure Compiler API up to date as changes are made.

JsFramework unit tests are still passing after making the switch to Closure Compiler.

We've recently upgraded our Twitter feature in Atlas to include search. Click the Twitter icon in Atlas (you'll find it under the "experimental" tab) and we'll begin by displaying tweets from the public timeline. Enter your own search term OR select a currently trending topic from the dropdown and Atlas will begin streaming search results as they happen.

Dr. Andrew Hudson-Smith of Digital Urban offers a word of advice, "Warning you could spend hours just watching this Twitter visualization using Atlas."

Pro tip: You can create your own Twitter search map URL using http://atlas.freshlogicstudios.com/?twitter={searchTerm}

When you select "about this location" Atlas is going to do three things for you. First, it's going to show the latitude and longitude coordinates for the spot you've clicked. Next, it's going to display the readable street address for the spot you've clicked using a process called reverse geocoding. We've had this for a while now.

This next part is new. Atlas will now query Wikipedia for relevant articles near the spot you've clicked. If Atlas is able to locate a relevant article, it will display a short summary and provide a link to the full article on Wikipedia.

We've talked about Atlas & Wikipedia before, but we feel integrating Wikipedia articles into the "about this location" is a lot more useful.

• Basic includes, get this, the basics... like directions and search.
• Advanced includes several of our most popular features... including lowest gas prices, package tracking, and Flickr photo search.
• Experimental includes a preview of some things we're still working on... such as GPS device tracking and our Twitter visualization.

We hope this new change makes it easier to discover new ways to use Atlas. If you have any other suggestions, we'd love to hear it.

So, what's new in this redesign?
Nothing really. We took a small break from project work to tidy things up around here. Don't freak out; it was time for us to remove some older portions of the site.

What happened to your gadgets?
We had a great time working with the Windows Live team and various groups inside Microsoft creating web gadgets for live.com. Sadly there doesn't appear to be much activity with web gadgets lately. If you're still using live.com as your homepage you can find our gadgets on our archived gadgets page or on the Windows Live Gallery.

What happend to your JavaScript library?
We moved it to jsframework.com. We think JsFramework is a much better name than Fresh Logic Studios Scripts; I'm sure you'll agree.

What about Atlas?
Same great Atlas. If you've not tried some of the more advanced features, you should give them a shot. You could map videos from youtube, track shipments, map twitter posts... or use it to fight fires.

Search