Upgrading to v3 from v2 of google maps API, suggestions - javascript

I have full fledged integration of google maps version 2 in my web application, with features like get directions, cluster markers, tabbed info window, context menu(right click). The implementation has very poor design which is causing some problem, So now I need to revamp the core implementation to better design. I was thinking of upgrading to version 3 of google maps API. Please suggest, if that's a good thing to do and my all features will be running fine(or I will get replacement for all the features mentioned) in less time. Or should I stick to the version 2 of the google maps API?

I recommend you upgrade to v3. I upgraded my site a few months ago (and blogged about the experience). A few things to keep in mind:
No more API key.
The marker and info window API has changed, for the better.
No more AJAX helper stuff. If you are using GXMLHttp, you will need to swap over to a new AJAX wrapper (Jquery, mootools etc).
Check your lat/lngs are in the right order. GPoint takes x and y (longitude and latitude). v3 has a latlng object, so your params might be backwards.
Styled maps - You will be able to customize your color scheme in v3.
Don't think you can turn on the Google earth plugin in a single line of code like you could in v2 (not 100% on this, so please correct me if I am wrong).
Once you are done, you will be happy to make the change. Pages load faster, zooming is smoother (polyines scale as you zoom instead of disappearing) and the mobile experience is much better.

Related

rotate with two fingers map in google maps javascript

I am doing an application using cordova.I have to rotate the map with two fingers using google maps api javascript.How can i do it?I am searching for all possibilities before implement my self the function.
I'm in the same exact situation. I decided to use the javascript api for a ionic2 android app because it's easier to develop/debug. At this point I realized the javascript api it's a bit more basic than the android/ios one.
I think gestures with the javascript api have to be worked out by your code through css rotations and stuff. I'd also like to know other opinions about this.

google maps offline: not tiles but javascript

I have an HTML (phonegap) application that uses Google Maps API to display a map with markers. I want this app to be used offline. I know that Google Maps tiles can't be used offline (because of its license). However, what I want to do is use the map interface without the tiles.
When online -> tiles and markers displayed.
When offline -> only markers displayed.
However, the js loading of Google maps is complex, and I haven't managed to cache it.
Thanks.
Caching google maps javascript is not allowed, that's because their payment system is based on how many times their javascript API are loaded by the users. One page refresh is equal to one google maps API call, and depending what kind of contract you made you just lost -1 from the total amount of API requests you have purchased.
How is Google Maps API for Business usage tracked and reported?
A single load of the Google Maps JavaScript API into a page. The
JavaScript API is reloaded every time a page that uses the API is
reloaded. User interactions with the map (eg. panning, zooming,
changing map types) do not generate more page views. Note however that
a page view is generated if the API is loaded into the page even if
the API is not then used to display a map.
See https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/business/faq#pageview
You could, of course contact google and try to ask some tailored business solution for your needs. I am not 100% sure what kind of things they offer if you contact them directly. But although, your request is somewhat impossible to fill since those UI generation codes also resides inside that google maps API javascript which you need.
So I would suggest that if you only need google maps interface when offline, take a moment and implement something similar with HTML/CSS/ (and some JS).. markers you could draw on canvas or use normal img's and positioning. If you need to implement dragging and zooming - it would be little bit more difficult but not impossible with canvas or some other techniques. But that being said it would just be easier to keep app online, we all have internet :) ? Making 1on1 matching dummy offline UI against google maps would be really painful process, when we consider the fact that google maps UI also changes overtime, like in their upcoming versions.
You could use OpenStreetMaps instead, it can be used offline: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Offline_Openstreetmap

Google Maps api custom tiles for fictional video game world

I want to use the Google Maps v3 api to generate an interactive Google Map interface that uses custom tiles for a map from a video game. The app needs to be able to zoom-in out and display the proper tiles for each zoom level as well.
I'm looking for some resources or a tutorial on how to accomplish this. The Google Maps v3 API appears to only discuss using custom tiles that lay on top of the normal Google Maps tiles. That wouldn't make sense in my application since my map is for a fictional world and wouldn't line up with anything in the real world maps. Perhaps I'm just not seeing what I need in the API guide...
Check out the ImageMapType class in the reference. There's a nifty example showing Moon tiles.
One of my favourite applications is The Internet map, the developer wrote a pretty sweet article on how it was developed.
You need to either cut up your custom game map image into the appropriate file/directory structure that makes integration into Maps API easy (here's an example using Photoshop and some example HTML/JS code). Or use a more friendly tool like TileMill, but this expects data in a standard spatial data format and you probably don't have your game map stored in such a format. If you can go that route, they also provide a Node.js-based server called TileServe that makes integration a cinch.
If you are expecting a boatload of traffic, then maybe look at Google Maps Engine to host your custom game map image directly in Google's infrastructure.

Choosing between YUI Charts or Google Visualization API

I'm a bit stuck with which charting library I will use in my project. Im stuck with this two (but also open for other suggestions)
For YUI Charts :
Pro :
- Very robust and configurable
Cons :
- Uses flash 9 >, which might potentially be inaccessible for users without up to date flash version
- Does not support export to image (for flash versions < 10 only)
For Google Visualization API
pros:
- small file size for the libraries,
- can be exported to static image charts (via separate API call)
Cons
- limited configuration options
So there, please help me decide. YUI charts has the edge over configuration options but Google Visualization API has the edge in terms of accessibility as it uses SVG to render the grapsh instead of Flash. For users that are hand-cuffed by corporate IT prohibitions , they cant just upgrade their Flash version and the page will not work.
Thanks!
I would choose Google's API as it requires only a javascript interpreter or internet access (to Google).
The fewer dependencies, the better. Not to mention there is quite an array of tools for manipulating SVG images.
If you really cannot make do without certain features in YUI or cannot find simpler ways to express your charts, then choose YUI.
You might also want to take a peek at http://www.simile-widgets.org/ It might be overkill / bad fit for your needs, but it is positively sexy.
If you don't want flash for drawing charts in your application it is better to choose
Google Visualization API...
The Google Visualization JavaScript API lets you access structured data and visualize that data using JavaScript in your web pages. The Google Visualization API also enables creation of gadgets.

Documentation on geting driving directions and calculating driving distance with Mapstraction

I'm trying to build an easy to use map system for the applications we develop at work. I started using Google Maps but I have to abandon that because of the lack of SSL support. While Google Maps API Premier has SSL support, we can't afford the 10k a year fee. I'm considering using Mapstraction so that in future, if I need to change providers it's much less of a hassle. However, what I'm primarily interested in, calculating the driving distance between two points, seems ti have no documentation for doing with Mapstration. Their website says that driving directions are available, but the API for this appears to be poorly documented. Does anyone know how to do this?
Keep an eye on the mapstraction mailing list as this feature is being implemented in v2 soon.

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