The springtime hype of Wolfram Alpha may have died down to a quiet squeak from academics still somewhat excited by the search-engine-lite-mathematics-heavy web product, but from today developers can tinker with its API.

Code junkies can now slot Wolfram Alpha into their own apps. The company confirmed yesterday that it had lifted the lid on its API, allowing developers to query the Wolfram system and run its data and calculations in tandem.

“Overwhelmingly, developers see Wolfram Alpha as a platform for building a business - providing commercial services that leverage Wolfram Alpha’s unique capabilities,” enthused the firm’s Schoeller Porter in a blog post.

“Clearly, a straightforward API that enables applications to access advanced computations based on trusted information and backed up by a supercomputer-class infrastructure invites developers to explore ideas that were not otherwise possible,” he added.

However, Wolfram hasn’t yet bigged up any apps users might expect to see created from the API, even though Porter did claim to have already seen ideas from more than 2,000 developers.

And, for those coders interested in getting their hands on Wolfram’s API, a price tag for access is attached. The company has tailored individual plans for personal use, SMBs and enterprise outfits accordingly. ®

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