Note: due to changes in the authentication process for Amazon Web Services API, the REST request method described in this tutorial needs to be updated. I will be making changes to the content in the near future.

As discussed in my AJAX article, Amazon offers its web API via a service model, that is to say: delivery of its information product is accomplished through a service designed to function as a back-end to an Associates’ application. The purpose of this tutorial is to examine and construct a simple search application that uses Amazon’s web service as it’s backbone. Before beginning the tutorial, take a brief look at the design of our search application in Figure 1. You will see that the search page has been broken up into ten different sections. The tutorial will focus on the construction of each of these sections.

Figure 1

The Anatomy of a Basic Product Search