book

Google Maps Hacks

by Rich Gibson, Schuyler Erle

January 2006

Intermediate to advanced

370 pages

10h 6m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Google Maps Hacks
Dedication
Foreword
Credits
About the AuthorsContributors
Preface
Putting the World in the World Wide WebOpen APIs + Open Data Formats = Web 2.0 HeavenWho Will Aggregate the Aggregators?Not Just Where 2.0, But Also Why 2.0Why Google Maps Hacks?How to Use This BookHow This Book Is OrganizedConventions Used in This BookUsing Code ExamplesHow to Contact UsGot a Hack?Safari Enabled
1. You Are Here: Introducing Google Maps
1.1. Hacks 1–9: Introduction1. Get Around1.2.1. What’s Different About Google Maps?1.2.2. Getting Around1.2.3. Entering a Location2. Find Yourself (and Others) on Google Maps1.3.1. Odd and Surprising Ways to Find Things1.3.2. When Locations Fail: The Importance of Context3. Navigate the World in Your Web Browser1.4.1. Just a Click Away…1.4.2. You Control the Horizontal and the Vertical1.4.3. Economies of Scale1.4.4. Take the Shortcut1.4.5. Taste the Secret Sauce4. Get the Bird’s-Eye View1.5.1. Is It Really There?1.5.2. Hybrid Vigor5. Driven to a Better User Interface1.6.1. Using the Info Windows1.6.2. Other Ways to Search6. Share Google Maps1.7.1. Bookmark a Google Map or Post It on Your Web Page1.7.2. Shorten That Link!1.7.3. Limits on Email and Links7. Inside Google Maps URLs1.8.1. More Parameters!1.8.2. Finding More Parameters?1.8.3. See Also8. Generate Links to Google Maps in a Spreadsheet1.9.1. See Also9. Use del.icio.us to Keep Up with Google Maps1.10.1. See Also
2. Introducing the Google Maps API
2.1. Hacks 10–16: Introduction10. Add a Google Map to Your Web Site2.2.1. Get a Developer Key2.2.2. Hello, World!2.2.3. Getting Outside of Your Head2.2.4. Getting Right to the Point2.2.5. See Also11. Where Did the User Click?12. How Far Is That? Go Beyond Driving Directions13. Create a Route with a Click (or Two)2.5.1. The Code14. Create Custom Map Markers2.6.1. Find the Right Foreground Image2.6.2. Casting the Shadow2.6.3. Add Your New Icon to a Map2.6.4. See Also15. Map a Slideshow of Your Travels2.7.1. The Code2.7.2. See Also16. How Big Is the World?2.8.1. Economies of Scale2.8.2. So, How Much?2.8.3. What About the Rest of the World?
3. Mashing Up Google Maps
3.1. Hacks 17–28: Introduction17. Map the News18. Examine Patterns of Criminal Activity3.3.1. Adding Ward and ZIP Code Boundaries3.3.2. See Also19. Map Local Weather Conditions3.4.1. The Situation Outside Is…3.4.2. More Than Just the Weather3.4.3. Microclimates and Distributed Weather Reporting3.4.4. See Also20. Track Official Storm Reporting3.5.1. Getting the Data3.5.2. The Hack3.5.3. See Also21. Track the International Space Station3.6.1. How It Works3.6.2. See Also22. Witness the Effects of a Nuclear Explosion3.7.1. The Code3.7.2. See Also23. Find a Place to Live3.8.1. What to Do?3.8.2. How It Works3.8.3. See Also24. Search for Events by Location3.9.1. How It Works3.9.2. See Also25. Track Your UPS Packages3.10.1. The Hack3.10.2. The Code3.10.3. Hacking the Hack26. Follow Your Packets Across the Internet3.11.1. From Clicks to Bricks3.11.2. How It Works3.11.3. Hacking the Hack27. Add Google Maps to Any Web Site3.12.1. Greasemap to the Rescue3.12.2. Installing Greasemap3.12.3. Taking Greasemap Out for a Spin3.12.4. How Greasemap Identifies Locations3.12.5. See Also28. How Big Is That, Exactly?3.13.1. The Hack3.13.2. The Code3.13.3. How Big Is “That Big”?
4. On the Road with Google Maps
4.1. Hacks 29–41: Introduction29. Find the Best Gasoline Prices4.2.1. What a Gas!4.2.2. GasWatch30. Stay Out of Traffic Jams4.3.1. Avoiding Gridlock in the United States4.3.2. Avoiding Gridlock in the United Kingdom4.3.3. But, Wait, There’s More!4.3.4. Hacking the Hack31. Navigate Public Transportation4.4.1. Vancouver4.4.2. Boston4.4.3. Seattle4.4.4. New York City4.4.5. Chicago4.4.6. Where’s My City?32. Locate a Phone Number33. Why Your Cell Phone Doesn’t Work There34. Publish Your Own Hiking Trail Maps35. Load Driving Directions into Your GPS4.8.1. See Also36. Get Driving Directions for More Than Two Locations37. View Your GPS Tracklogs in Google Maps4.10.1. Processing GPX Tracks to Reduce Complexity4.10.2. Converting GPX to JavaScript Calls Using Ruby4.10.3. Supporting HTML and JavaScript for GPX Viewing4.10.4. Client-Side Implementation4.10.5. Other Possibilities4.10.6. See Also38. Map Your Wardriving Expeditions4.11.1. The Hack4.11.2. The Code4.11.3. Hacking the Hack39. Track Your Every Move with Google Earth4.12.1. Peering into the Keyhole4.12.2. Back Down to Earth4.12.3. The Code4.12.4. Hacking the Hack4.12.4.1. Pre-cache the Google Earth data.4.12.4.2. Let other Google Earth users follow along in real time.4.12.4.3. Add other people’s photos into the browser window.4.12.4.4. Add other people’s photos into Google Earth itself.40. The Ghost in Google Ride Finder4.13.1. Finding the Data4.13.2. Accumulating the Data4.13.3. Plotting the Data4.13.4. Hacking the Hack4.13.5. See Also41. How Google Maps Got Me Out of a Traffic Ticket4.14.1. See Also
5. Google Maps in Words and Pictures
5.1. Hacks 42–50: Introduction42. Get More out of What You Read43. Don’t Believe Everything You Read on a Map44. You Got Your A9 Local in My Google Maps!45. Share Pictures with Your Community46. Browse Photography by Shooting Location5.6.1. Tag, You’re It5.6.2. The Catch5.6.3. The Code5.6.4. Hacking the Hack47. Geotag Your Own Photos on Flickr48. Tell Your Community’s Story5.8.1. The Hack5.8.2. Getting Started5.8.3. Adding Your Own Locations5.8.4. Adding Photos to the Map49. Generate Geocoded RSS from Any Google Map5.9.1. The Hack5.9.2. The Code50. Geoblog with Google Maps in Thingster5.10.1. Enter Thingster5.10.2. Adding Maps to Blogs5.10.3. Practice5.10.4. How Do You Actually Use Thingster?

6. API Tips and Tricks
6.1. Hacks 51–61: Introduction51. Make a Fullscreen Map the Right Way6.2.1. Making a Map Take Up the Full Screen6.2.2. Adding a Side Panel to the Map52. Put a Map and HTML into Your Info Windows6.3.1. See Also53. Add Flash Applets to Your Google Maps6.4.1. Flash in the Info Window6.4.2. Communication Between Flash and Your Google Map6.4.3. Beyond Flash54. Add a Nicer Info Window to Your Map with TLabel6.5.1. Using TLabel55. Put Photographs on Your Google Maps56. Pin Your Own Maps to Google Maps with TPhoto57. Do a Local Zoom with GxMagnifier6.8.1. The Hack6.8.2. Doing More with GxMagnifier6.8.2.1. Zooming.6.8.2.2. Resizing.6.8.2.3. Capturing the cick.6.8.2.4. Moving the button.6.8.2.5. Automatically panning.6.8.2.6. Docking.6.8.2.7. Multiple magnifiers and negative zoom.6.8.3. See Also58. Find the Right Zoom Level6.9.1. The Brute Force Method6.9.2. The Analytic Method6.9.3. The Undocumented API Method59. Show Lots of Stuff—Quickly6.10.1. The Code6.10.2. See Also60. Make Things Happen When the Map Moves6.11.1. The Hack6.11.2. The Code6.11.3. The GEvent API6.11.4. Hacking the Hack61. Use the Right Developer’s Key Automatically6.12.1. Pick the Right Key in Perl6.12.2. Use JavaScript to Accomplish the Same Goal6.12.3. Using Apache’s mod_rewrite to Share Keys6.12.4. Edit .htaccess to Rewrite Requests6.12.5. See Also
7. Extreme Google Maps Hacks
7.1. Hacks 62–70: Introduction62. Find the Latitude and Longitude of a Street Address7.2.1. The Hack7.2.2. The Code7.2.2.1. XML-RPC.7.2.2.2. REST.7.2.2.3. SOAP.7.2.3. The Caveats7.2.4. Geocoding Addresses Outside the U.S.7.2.5. See Also63. Read and Write Markers from a MySQL Database7.3.1. Structuring Your Database7.3.2. The Code7.3.3. See Also64. Build Custom Icons on the Fly7.4.1. The Hack7.4.2. The Code7.4.3. See Also65. Add More Imagery with a WMS Interface7.5.1. The Hack7.5.2. The Code7.5.3. The Virtues of Additional Map Layers7.5.4. Finding and Using Other WMS Servers7.5.5. See Also66. Add Your Own Custom Map7.6.1. Four Steps to Add a Custom Map7.6.2. Create a New Map Type7.6.3. Set the Path to Your Map Images7.6.4. Customize Your Map’s Button Name7.6.5. Add Your Map to the List of Map Types7.6.6. See Also67. Serve Custom Map Imagery7.7.1. Conclusion7.7.2. See Also68. Automatically Cut and Name Custom Map Tiles7.8.1. The Google Map Tile Structure7.8.2. Figuring Out the Values for Your Tiles7.8.3. Configuring the Script7.8.3.1. ZoomLevel.7.8.3.2. FolderPath.7.8.3.3. Furthest zoom upper-left corner values.7.8.4. Running Our Script in Photoshop7.8.5. Hacking the Hack7.8.6. See Also69. Cluster Markers at High Zoom Levels7.9.1. The Hack7.9.2. Choosing the Right Clustering Algorithm7.9.2.1. k-means clustering.7.9.2.2. Hierarchical clustering.7.9.2.3. Naïve grid-based clustering.7.9.3. The Code7.9.3.1. The server-side CGI script.7.9.3.2. The client-side JavaScript.7.9.4. Conclusion7.9.5. See Also70. Will the Kids Barf? (and Other Cool Ways to Use Google Maps)7.10.1. Other Cool Google Maps Hacks7.10.1.1. Google sightseeing.7.10.1.2. ZIP Code maps.7.10.1.3. Google Planimeter.7.10.1.4. Play games on Google Maps.7.10.1.5. Map versus satellite.7.10.1.6. Edible plants in the public domain.7.10.1.7. Animate a route.7.10.1.8. Track your credit card spending.7.10.2. Where to from Here?
Index
About the Authors
Colophon
Copyright

Content preview from Google Maps Hacks

Chapter 6. API Tips and Tricks

Hacks 51–61: Introduction

The official Google Maps API makes a lot of things easy. Here are some hacks that push the API in new directions and extend the API with external libraries. Tricks such as filling your whole 21-inch flat panel display with a map, customizing your info windows with an embedded map the way the driving directions work, and integrating Flash with your maps.

You can even add custom labels and photographs on top of your Google Maps. Perhaps this technique reaches the height of elegance (absurdity?) when used to compare the size of Burning Man with New York’s Central Park.

The chapter ends with several tricks to allow you to use one developer’s key for multiple domains and directories. Do you really want to manage multiple keys because you have the domain http://mydomain.com and you serve the same pages from it and http://www.mydomain.com? I didn’t think so!

Make a Fullscreen Map the Right Way

Map too big? Map too small? Flex those pixels into shape!

Imagine you’re the proud new owner of a big, shiny 21-inch flat-panel display, and you surf to your favorite Google Maps web site—only to find it still confines you to a tiny little 3-inch-square map. It’s an embarrassment, to say the least. Likewise, think about those poor fellows with small monitors who are scrolling until their fingers fall off to get around your gigantic 1600 x 1200–pixel map. Such sites ought to come with warning labels about claustrophobia.

A good Google Map stretches ...

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