Crushmail proved to be the ideal project to iron out our proprietary PHP5 Facebook API class (THANKS JIM!). Crushmail includes profile gathering features such as Profile Pictures, Friends List, Interests, etc. We use all this information in the generation of clues and propagation. We also have common functionality such as Invitations and other viral marketing tools.

With this Facebook class, we can quickly apply our existing code to other applications, focusing on the user interface and core functionality of the system. No reason to re-invent the wheel (unless the wheel is square - but we made sure to round all the edges!) When things calm down, we plan on documenting our work and releasing it into the general public. After all, where would we be without open source! (*cough* M$ *cough*).

Along with the Facebook API class, we developed a custom image processing class and queuing system to handle the creation of the “Puzzle Clues”. We interfaced with ImageMagick to handle the conversion and composition of the images. There really is no magic, we simply harness the power of open source!

Our core classes are allowing us to think of innovative and increasingly complex applications for the community to enjoy. Be on the look out!

I’m sure as the game progresses, people will start to harness the powers of the open source community into their Facebook applications. Then we will see some wonderful applications.

For now, Enjoy Crushmail, Share, and Leave Feedback!