Google implements GoogleCL command-line tool
22 Jun 2010
Currently a few Google services like Blogger and YouTube accept a limited set of command-line instructions. Google has now decided to implement an actual command-line tool for several of its services and last week unveiled the GoogleCL an open-source software for Linux, Mac, and Windows for performing sophisticated tasks on some Google sites.
According to Google engineer Jason Hold and former Google intern Tom Miller, GoogleCL is a command-line utility that allows users to access various Google services. They say it streamlines tasks like posting to a Blogger blog, adding events to Calendar or editing documents on Google Docs.
The Python application uses Phython gdata libraries to send Google Data API calls from the command line.
With GoogleCL users can access the following services arranged in order of implementation completeness – Picasa, Docs, YouTube, Blogger, Calendar and Contacts.
Users can now use GoogleCL to list, delete and create Blogger posts, Picasa albums and images or open Google Docs in an editor like vim.
There are other open source projects including goofs and Goose aimed at offering similar functionality for Google Calendar and Google Search. Analysts say at some point these projects may be merged with GoogleCL.
According to experts while installation of GoogleCL is easy in Linux, with Mac, users need to have MacPorts or homebrew software to facilitate installation. Windows users need to uninstall the zip file in a particular location and run commands in the terminal fro tool activation.
It would prompt Google username and password and on entering it users can search from the command prompt. There is no need for browsers then.
