Jigsaw, has announced additions to their RESTful JSON and XML API as well as a developer program designed to enable developers to query, share, and resell Jigsaw’s community-contributed database of company data and contact information. They came onto the API scene in June 2008 with their declaration of “Data Independence Day“, which focused on providing free access to their database of company information (more details at our Jigsaw API Profile).

This round of API additions adds support for premium transactions such as requesting lists of contact information. Because Jigsaw requires payment for such contact requests, their API now includes the ability for an application developer to pay on their own and pass on the cost or to make requests using the end-user’s own Jigsaw account.

Disappointingly, for the latter behavior, Jigsaw chose to require applications to pass in a username and password as part of each request instead of using a delegated authorization protocol such as the widely used OAuth standard.

They signed up an impressive 17 companies as launch partn