First GIS: Introducing

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Introducing the Maps API Demo Gallery

Thursday, February 28, 2008at10:00:00 PM

Posted by Pamela Fox, Google Maps API Team

Why re-invent the wheel when you can copy and paste our wheel instead?

In the Google Maps API group and in my Inbox, developers often ask me questions such as "How do I draw a circle on the map?" or "How do I create groups of toggle-able markers?" Most of those questions are answered in the usage of little demo applications that I or one of our great external developers have put together. Previously, you have had to hunt through multiple places -- blog posts, developer sites, and group posts -- to find links to those demos. Well, start saving your hunting skills for the inevitable apocalypse. Our new Maps API Demo Gallery aggregates these demos togther, displaying a gallery of 40+ mini-applications with thumbnails, descriptions, and easy-to-read source code. Check out a standalone embedded version of this gallery below, and contact me if you'd like some of your own demos included in it.

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Introducing the Google Maps API for Flash

Wednesday, May 14, 2008at5:40:00 AM

Posted by Mike Jones, Maps API Team

Here at Google, we receive a lot of feature requests - and it feels great every time we fulfill one of them. The ability to utilize the power of Google Maps from Flash is one of those requests that has been popping up on blog posts and other forums since the beginning of time (or more accurately, the beginning of the Javascript Maps API). Over the past few hours, I've had the enjoyment of finally seeing this particular feature request - a Maps API for Flash - come to fruition. Tiredness will grab me soon, no doubt. If you're one of the first readers of this post, rest assured that I'm unlikely to still be awake: long hours have been worked; pre-launch nerves have jangled. Now it's time to let our baby loose into the world and see how the developer community will embrace it.

So, what do I like about the API for Flash? Smoothness and speed are a big part of it. We've designed it so that Flash graphics can be used for each tile layer, marker and info window - opening up possibilities like dynamic shading, shadowing, animation, and video. When the user zooms the map, magnification changes happen smoothly and place names fade in. After the user drags a marker, it gently bounces to a halt. Generally, Flash allows for much greater embellishment, and, well... "flashiness." I get excited just thinking about the creative ways developers might take advantage of having a Flash API for Google Maps.

What was one of our main design decisions for this project? We knew that version 1 of any software project is not perfect, so we opted to split the interface and implementation. As a result, you can build against the current version of the API, and as we add enhancements and tweaks, your website benefits automatically from each update. When you wish to take advantage of new API functions, only then do you need to download the latest API and rebuild.

What does it look like? We've played with it, thrown our ideas in, and also worked with outside companies to see how they use the API. It's been a pleasure to see some of the demos that have come back. Here's one from AFComponents that shows some of the possibilities:

When I first joined Google in Sydney, I got to hear about the experience of the Maps team when they first watched the traffic and the buzz build for the launch of Google Maps. Well, now I'm ready to experience that with this new API. Do send us feedback, we're looking forward to it.

What remains? Over to you.