Google Deprecates Translation API 95
An anonymous reader writes "Google is to close down its popular Translate application programming interface — along with a host of others — by the end of the year, owing to what it claims is 'extensive abuse' by users of the service, but has thus far declined to provide details or a sensible alternative for users of the API."
Misleading... (Score:2, Informative)
Somewhat misleading. Read Google's actual comments: http://www.google.com/webelements/#!/translate [google.com]
"For website translations, we encourage you to use the Google Translate Element."
http://www.google.com/webelements/#!/translate [google.com]
So its not really gone, just a new way to use it.
Did this before, with search APIs. (Score:2, Informative)
What they're doing with search APIs is instructive. Google closed down their SOAP search API years ago. They've deprecated their "AJAX search API" as well; that has two years of life left. There's still a search API for searching your own site: "Google Custom Search". But there's no API for searching other sites.
Translation is getting the same treatment. Translation will be available for your own site, but there will be no API for using it generally.
You can see where this is going. Any Google API which offers a generally useful service that's not tied to an ad-supported Google property will probably go away.