eBay launches developer Web site

eBay has launched a new Web site intended to help developers create applications for the auction site and its PayPal online payment service.

At the Web site, dubbed eBay Community Codebase, developers will have access to source code for various eBay and PayPal tools and sample applications, as well as provide a way to more easily collaborate on projects with others.

"We are dipping our toe, so to speak, in the pond of the open-source world," said Greg Isaacs, director of eBay's Developer Program.

Initial projects in the Codebase Web site include sample programs that allow people to keep track of eBay auctions through their Firefox browser and TiVo digital video recorder, as well as scripts for building PayPal "buy now" buttons into Web sites.

The Codebase Web site will be hosted by CollabNet, which provides an environment that enables developers across different geographical areas and time zones to work on projects together.

Companies are increasingly turning to the wider developer community to increase the number of applications that run on their software and Web sites. For example, Google announced Google Code, a central resource for its developers, in March.

[lwvirden]

What is the safety check here?

Non-developers need to band together to form some kind of auditing service as these types of facilities begin to open up.

I mean, making use of non-ebay written software
to interact with ebay, giving the software your passwords, credit card numbers, etc.

Sounds like an identity theft nightmare otherwise.