• August 12, 2003

AdStar, Inc., an application service provider for the classified advertising industry, this week introduced its AdStar XML Gateway, a feature-rich application programming interface (API) designed to allow third-party ad-taking applications and systems to cost-effectively deliver ads directly into classified publishing systems. The XML Gateway interface leverages AdStar's more than 16 years of expertise and technology development by allowing vertical-application vendors to build and integrate an ad-sales channel into their existing systems using AdStar's technology. One of XML Gateway's advantages is the integration of third-party ad-publishing applications with the specific business rules of individual publications. Such business rules include classification and edition/zoning lists, composition rules, pricing algorithms, and scheduling/deadline restrictions. XML Gateway's verification processes then insure that each ad is valid and will be accepted by the appropriate publishing software system. AdStar XML Gateway accepts prepaid ads, along with contract/billing information from advertisers that have established credit with publishers. AdStar hosts XML Gateway on a server farm in a secure co-location to insure 24/7 availability. Publishers are charged a per-ad transaction fee for ads that come through the XML Gateway. Publishers that are already AdStar customers pay a small start-up fee, but are not required to purchase additional hardware or software and do not incur any additional maintenance costs to utilize the XML Gateway interface .