By Rich Gibson, Schuyler Erle
First Edition
January 2006
Pages: 366
Series: Hacks
ISBN 10: 0-596-10161-9 |
ISBN 13: 9780596101619
(Average of 4 Customer Reviews)
The nearest pizza, the cheapest gas, the best meeting place for a group-Google Maps Hacks shows you creative ways to add to and customize the satellite images and underlying API of Google Maps for applications serendipitous or serious. Written by Schuyler Erle and Rich Gibson (with a foreword by Google Maps tech leads, Jens and Lars Rasmussen), Google Maps Hacks shares dozens of tricks for combining the capabilities of Google's Keyhole map feature with your own datasets, so you can create interactive maps for unlimited personal and commercial applications.
Full Description
Written by Schuyler Erle and Rich Gibson, authors of the popular Mapping Hacks, Google Maps Hacks shares dozens of tricks for combining the capabilities of Google Maps with your own datasets. Such diverse information as apartment listings, crime reporting or flight routes can be integrated with Google's satellite imagery in creative ways, to yield new and useful applications.
The authors begin with a complete introduction to the "standard" features of Google Maps. The adventure continues with 60 useful and interesting mapping projects that demonstrate ways developers have added their own features to the maps. After that's given you ideas of your own, you learn to apply the techniques and tools to add your own data to customize and manipulate Google Maps. Even Google seems to be tacitly blessing what might be seen as unauthorized use, but maybe they just know a good thing when they see one.
With the tricks and techniques you'll learn from Google Maps Hacks, you'll be able to adapt Google's satellite map feature to create interactive maps for personal and commercial applications for businesses ranging from real estate to package delivery to home services, transportation and more. Includes a foreword by Google Maps tech leads, Jens and Lars Rasmussen.
Featured customer reviews
This was a fun book, June 14 2006
I bought this book in February, when v1 was current, and found it very helpful for learning how to use the API, and a lot of fun. Even though I had almost no experience with JavaScript before using the book, the examples were all very understandable. Now that version 2.x is online, I still use the book, but need to modify the code, of course, making things somewhat less convenient. I eagerly look forward to a new edition, hopefully with new examples in addition to updates of the basic ones. Those who need an introduction to the API should probably wait for this edition to be released before making the purchase.
Helpful and Illustrative, June 01 2006
This is a good read. It showcases some great things people have done with Google Maps.
However, giving this book a rating was challenging. I found the book very informative and helpful, but it was all based on the old 1.0 API. I guess that is what happens when you write about a cutting edge technology! :-)
Overall I though it was a 4 - Very Good, but the 1.0 API dropped it down to a 3 - Good.
Can't wait to see the next edition.
Based on version 1, but..., May 19 2006
Even if the book is based on version 1 of Google maps it is nevertheless possible to get a lot of good ideas and hints which can be used with some modification under version 2.
I agree that parts of the examples can be found on the web, but
1. it is better to read printed material
2. you get additional explanations
3. there are a few extension to examples from the web.
However, the reader should have some experience in programming!
Disappointed, May 09 2006
Much of this book is already outdated. It relies on v1 of Google Maps and they're up to 2.5 now. If you're a sophisticated programmer, that might not matter to you, but then you wouldn't need this book. You can find the same examples on the web and look at the code without spending $29.
Media reviews
"The Google Maps has wowed users with its groundbreaking user interface and its great speed. Just as phenomenal is the emergence of large number of hacks that built on top of the Google maps platform. The O'Reilly's Google Maps Hacks cover the platform and many of these wonderful projects."
-- Tun Wai Yip, BayPIGgies (Bay Area Python Interest Group)
