In a rather unexpected turn of events, Google has decided to deprecate their SOAP API, and are instead going to point users to their AJAX search API.

This API is used by countless of developers around the globe, and has become the standard example for web services-related tutorials, both online and in print. Indeed, the merits (or lack thereof) of SOAP has long been a hot topic, however even in light of trends toward REST one cannot deny it remains a crucial part of so many web services implementations.

I realize technology is always a moving target, and successful developers will always find a way to move forward; however this move seems irrational at best.