Facebook Cookbook

Chapter 3. Hello World

“Hello World” is the Citizen Kane of computer programs: it’s hailed as a classic by almost everyone, but seriously misunderstood the first time it’s tried. If you’ve ever learned a new programming language, the odds are pretty good that your first program was some variation on Hello World: just enough complexity to get a flavor for the environment and to fill you with satisfaction at seeing those beautiful 10 letters paint across the screen, which is what this chapter is all about. Time to get Facebook Platforming!

Installing the Facebook Developer App

Problem

How do I actually add an app to Facebook? How do I configure and manage my apps? Where are the stats?

Solution

It’s all about Facebook’s Developer app, which acts as a control panel for managing all of your apps, a portal into the Developer Discussion Board, a listing of News published by Facebook, and a Marketplace listing that shows Platform-related jobs available and developers looking for gigs. It’s also where you’ll add a new app to Facebook, so install it here: http://www.facebook.com/developers/.

Discussion

You’re going to spend a lot of time in this app, so it’s worth taking a quick look around. Figure 3-1 shows the app’s home page.

Figure 3-1. Facebook Developer app

Let’s take a quick tour of the major areas you’ll be interacting with:

Setup New Application

Starting in the top-right corner, you’ll see the ...