The Google Maps API remains one of the showcase examples of the Web 2.0 development paradigm. In fact, interest in the Google service is so strong that it arguably sparked the mashup phenomenon, along with a number of websites intended to highlight some of the exciting applications developers are building with the mapping API. Google Maps Application Development is the first book to comprehensively introduce the service from a developer perspective, showing readers how they can integrate mapping features into their Web applications. Proceeding far beyond creating a simplistic map display, readers are shown how to draw upon a variety of data sources such as geocode.us and the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line data to build comprehensive geocoding services for mapping any location in North America. Readers are guided through various examples demonstrating how to encourage user interaction such as pinpointing map locations, adding comments, and building community-driven maps.

Autorentext
Jeffrey Sambells?is a graphic designer and self-taught web applications developer best known for his unique ability to merge the visual world of graphics with the mental realm of code. With a bachelor of technology degree in graphic communications management along with a minor in multimedia, Jeffrey was originally trained for the traditional paper-and-ink printing industry, but he soon realized the world of pixels and code was where his ideas would prosper. In late 1999, he cofounded We-Create, Inc., an Internet software company based in Waterloo, Ontario, which began many long nights of challenging and creative innovation. Currently, as director of research and development for We-Create, Jeffrey is responsible for investigating new and emerging Internet technologies and integrating them using web standards-compliant methods. In late 2005, he also became a Zend Certified Engineer. When not playing at the office, Jeffrey enjoys a variety of hobbies from photography to woodworking. When the opportunity arises, he also enjoys floating in a canoe on the lakes of Algonquin Provincial Park or going on an adventurous, map-free, drive with his wife. Jeffrey also maintains a personal website at JeffreySambells.com, where he shares thoughts, ideas, and opinions about web technologies, photography, design, and more. He lives in Ontario, Canada, eh, with his wife, Stephanie, his daughter, Addison, and their little dog, Milo.

Zusammenfassung

Until recently, building interactive web-based mapping applications has been a cumbersome affair. This changed when Google released its powerful Maps API. Beginning Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax was written to help you take advantage of this technology in your own endeavorswhether you're an enthusiast playing for fun or a professional building for profit. This book covers version 2 of the API, including Google's new Geocoding service.

Authors Jeffrey Sambells, Cameron Turner, and Michael Purvis get rolling with examples that require hardly any code at all, but you'll quickly become acquainted with many facets of the Maps API. They demonstrate powerful methods for simultaneously plotting large data sets, creating your own map overlays, and harvesting and geocoding sets of addresses. You'll see how to set up alternative tile sets and where to access imagery to use for them. The authors even show you how to build your own geocoder from scratch, for those high-volume batch jobs.

As well as providing hands-on examples of real mapping projects, this book supplies a complete reference for the Maps API, along with the relevant aspects of JavaScript, CSS, PHP, and SQL. Visit the authors' website for additional tips and advice.

Inhalt
Your First Google Maps.- Introducing Google Maps.- Getting Started.- Interacting with the User and the Server.- Geocoding Addresses.- Beyond the Basics.- Manipulating Third-Party Data.- Improving the User Interface.- Optimizing and Scaling for Large Data Sets.- What's Next for the Google Maps API?.- Advanced Map Features and Methods.- Advanced Tips and Tricks.- Lines, Lengths, and Areas.- Advanced Geocoding Topics.