Yahoo developer programmes under threat

Yahoo is unsure what the Microsoft deal means for developer search services

Yahoo claims that it is still unsure how the newly-signed search agreement with Microsoft will affect all its search related services.

The 10-year deal will see Microsoft's Bing powering Yahoo search, while Yahoo will use its solid relationship with advertisers to become the sales force for both companies' search advertisers.

Yahoo said that it had received questions from developers immediately following the announcement about what will happen to offerings such as the Boss search API and SearchMonkey, which allows developers to use structured data to enhance the usefulness of Yahoo search results.

However, Yahoo maintained that it is unable at this time to answer the questions.

"We currently do not have anything concrete to tell you," said Chris Yeh, head of the Yahoo Development Network, in a blog post. "Clearly, we will need to work with Microsoft to determine what makes the most sense for you and for us."

Boss developers in particular want to find out whether the service will be replaced by a Microsoft Bing API, and whether small companies using Boss will now be disconnected.

Ashim Chhabra, head of the Boss team, said in another blog post that the team is still absorbing the partnership announcement and working on a way forward.

"We can tell you that Boss will remain live for the time being," said Chhabra. "Over the next several days we'll be working hard to get clarity, and will update the community as soon as we can."