Google Maps Hacks

Preface

A few years ago, using maps on the Web was hard. The maps were ugly, slow to load, and burdened with a clunky user interface—and if you think using maps on the Web was hard, imagine trying to make useful and interesting maps on the Web! Today, however, all that has changed. A good measure of the credit for this quantum leap in digital cartography on the Internet is due to Google and their Google Maps service. How did this come about?

Putting the World in the World Wide Web

It has been said that “the network is the computer,” and, for most of us, the “network” means the World Wide Web. From its humble origins as a repository of hypertext documents, the Web has become a sort of distributed operating system, one that allows clever programmers (and more than a few random dilettantes) from far-flung places to build new applications by mixing and matching data and services in ways that the original designers of those services never considered.

In recent years, “traditional” commercial web sites, such as Amazon, eBay, and Google, have increasingly become platforms that support complex user ecosystems. Using openly published APIs, you can look up an item on Amazon, get a price history from eBay, and find reviews on Google—all at once, and all without Amazon, eBay, or Google ever talking with each other.

Until now, a crucial component has been lacking—location. What’s important about location, you may ask? Well, for starters, it’s everywhere! Everything has a location, and until now ...