march 2006 archives

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Convergence

Since more and more web applications embrace location and mapping, the GI industry is finally playing catch up. Technology and trends are slowly converging. One example is of course the popularity of Ajax-based, highly interactive web mapping interfaces. MapQuest recently launched their OpenAPI, yet another mapping API like Google Maps API and Yahoo Maps API. Even the Open Source mapping and GIS community were quick to join this trend with ka-Map, a JavaScript API for developing on top of MapServer

Another trend is that web developers are becoming increasingly aware of OGC specifications such as WMS. Was OGC previously regarded as the W3C of the GI industry without wider applicability, web developers are now keen to connect their web mapping applications to a WMS map server. For example, their are several JavaScript libraries available to link Google Maps to a WMS map server, most notably by Brian Flood, Kyle Mulka , and Just van den Broecke. The connection of Google Maps and WMS has also been established the other way around: CubeWerx offers a WMS Connector to Google Maps service. In other words, you can connect your map application to Google Maps as you would pull in maps from any WMS map server.

Not only Google Maps, but also Google Earth can be used as a client to a WMS map server when pointing the network link to a reflector script. Note that NASA's Open Source programme World Wind comes with a WMS Browser allowing you to connect to WMS map servers in World Wind.

Finally, Google Earth is becoming just another viewer for GIS data. For example, you can convert GIS data from proprietary formats to Google Earth's KML format using Brian Flood's (sic!) Arc2Earth and Safe Software's FME. Conversion's too old school for you? Don't worry. ESRI's ArcGIS Server product will be enhanced at version 9.2 to allow publishing of data in KML: check out the technical paper. MapInfo provides the MapInfo Professional Link Utility for Google Earth.  permanent link for this entry

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Thank you, Jeeves!

No, we don't have a butler here at webmapper, but via Tagzania, I just learned of Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves) providing maps aerial imagery, driving directions, and reverse geocoding for continental Europe! On March 8, Ask introduced local beta versions in France, Italy, and the Netherlands. It's got an intuitive AJAX-based map navigation interface just like Google Maps.

Simply entering Utrecht in the search box, the map view centers on the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Panning around, you right-click on the mouse and a menu pops up. Choosing the Add location option, a window appears with the coordinates of the point in longitude/latitude notation. The coordinates are then resolved to an address and a route is calculated. You can choose between driving and walking directions. Simply adding more points, a new route is calculated with multiple stops. The Play Directions widget (also on the Map24 website) next to the zoom widget starts an animation that pans the map view. On each turn, a info window opens up with the instruction. You can change the map between Street, Mixed (called Hybid in Google Maps), and Aerial (called Satellite in Google Maps).

Would Ask.com Maps and Directions herald a new round of map hacking, only one year and one month after Google Maps was first announced? Can't wait to see some cool mashups. Any chance of an Ask Map API being made available soon? Let's get hacking!  permanent link for this entry

A new mapping API

After the Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and MSN Virtual Earth API/SDKs, MapQuest is the first online mapping provider to take on their challenge and has just released the MapQuest OpenAPI beta programme. Again, an O'Reilly conference provided the right opportunity for the announcement: Etech. During the session Building More Useful Mashups: Integrated Routing and Geocoding, Anthony Pegg of MapQuest showcased the new API with both geocoding and routing capabilities!

The MapQuest OpenAPI is a free service that allows you to use JavaScript to easily integrate routing, geocoding and mapping into your website. With this feature-rich API you can create dynamic routing and mapping applications for personal or community use.

Rich Gibson also moderated the Etech BOF session The State of the Mashup: An Interactive Dialog About Advances in Free Mapping APIs, an opportunity for developers to discuss the merits and drawbacks of today's mapping mashups.

Just like the Google Maps API, once registered you receive an access key that you attach to the URL you embed in the webpage that references the location of the API. Furthermore, the webpage you embed the link into must reside inside the directory you specified when you generated your key.

Unfortunately, you first have to go through the sign-up process before you get to the documentation in the MapQuest Technical Resource Center and realise that street level geocoding is only available for the United States. Maps and driving directions only cover the United States and Canada. There's no mention of any coverage expansion plans yet. Also, the OpenAPI Developers Challenge is only open to legal residents of the United States and the District of Columbia.

Let me finish with a positive point, though. The sample mashup application, Mapzierge, mixes the MapQuest OpenAPI with the EVDB Web Services API uses a very intuitive way to pan around the map view by enabling users to simply drag the map. When users release the mouse button, the center of the map slowly moves to follow the mouse. It's certainly a nice adaptation of the instant dragging shown in the Google Maps interface. Maybe it's less dynamic, but fewer maps have to be served as a result: a pretty neat way to prevent the missing tiles that you sometimes get when using the Google Maps interface.  permanent link for this entry