Web Mapping Illustrated

Different Kinds of Web Mapping

One very effective way to make map information available to a group of nontechnical end users is to make it available through a web page. Web mapping sites are becoming increasingly popular. There are two broad kinds of web mapping applications: static and interactive.

Static maps displayed as an image on a web page are quite common. If you already have a digital map (e.g., from scanning a document), you can be up and running very quickly with a static map on your web page. Basic web design skills are all you need for this because it is only a single image on a page.

Tip

This book doesn't teach web design skills. O'Reilly has other books that cover the topic of web design, from basic to advanced, including: Learning Web Design, Web Design in a Nutshell, HTML and XHTML: The Definitive Guide, and many more.

Interactive maps aren't as commonly seen because they require specialized skills to keep such sites up and running (not to mention the potential costs of buying off-the-shelf software). The term interactive implies that the viewer can somehow interact with the map. This can mean selecting different map data layers to view or zooming into a particular part of the map that you are interested in. All this is done while interacting with the web page and a map image that is repeatedly updated. For example, MapQuest is an interactive web mapping program for finding street addresses and driving directions. You can see it in action at http://www.mapquest.com ...