Lewis / Turner / Sambells Beginning Google Maps Applications with Rails and Ajax

From Novice to Professional
1. ed
ISBN: 978-1-4302-0380-3
Verlag: Apress
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 365 Seiten

The Google Maps API is a showcase example of the Web 2.0 development paradigm, designed to be invitingly simple for developers to incorporate dynamic mapping services into Web applications. Beginning Google Maps Applications with Rails and Ajax takes a developer's perspective, showing how to integrate mapping features into their Rails-driven Web applications. The book shows how to draw on data sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line data and Google's own geocoding feature to build comprehensive geocoding services. The book includes guided examples demonstrating how to encourage user interaction such as pinpointing map locations, adding comments, and building community-driven maps.

Andre Lewis has been working with technology for the last nine years. His experience ranges from large-scale enterprise consulting with Accenture to startup ventures and open source projects. During 'Web 1.0,' Andre helped architect coolboard.com, one of the top 50 trafficked Internet sites in 2000. He currently runs his own business, developing Ruby on Rails applications and consulting on Web 2.0 technologies. He also runs hotspotr.com, a community-driven site for WiFi cafes. He blogs about technology, work, and general interests at http://earthcode.com. From time to time, Andre gives presentations to San Francisco-area technology groups, including SDForum and the SF Ruby meetup. Andre lives and works in San Francisco, California. When he's not working with clients or exploring the latest technologies, he likes to mountain bike, camp, and ride his motorcycle.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lewis, Andre

Turner, Cameron

Sambells, Jeffrey

Purvis, Michael

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Contents at a Glance;4
2;Contents;5
3;About the Authors;14
4;About the Technical Reviewer;16
5;Your First Google Maps;17
5.1;Google Maps and Rails;18
5.1.1;KML: Your First Map;19
5.1.2;Wayfaring: Your Second Map;20
5.1.3;Got Rails?;25
5.1.4;What’s Next?;26
5.2;Getting Started;28
5.2.1;On JavaScript, Helpers, and Plug- ins;28
5.2.2;Creating Your Rails Application;29
5.2.3;The First Map;29
5.2.4;Basic User Interaction;38
5.2.5;A List of Points;43
5.2.6;Summary;47
5.3;Interacting with the User and the Server;48
5.3.1;Adding Interactivity;48
5.3.2;Going on a Treasure Hunt;49
5.3.3;Reviewing Application Structure;50
5.3.4;Building on Your Application;51
5.3.5;Creating the Map and Marking Points;53
5.3.6;Listening to User Events;54
5.3.7;Asking for More Information with an Info Window;57
5.3.8;Implementing Ajax;67
5.3.9;Retrieving Markers from the Server;74
5.3.10;Adding Some Flair;77
5.3.11;Ajax with Prototype;80
5.3.12;Summary;82
5.4;Geocoding Addresses;83
5.4.1;Preparing the Address Data;83
5.4.2;Using Geocoding Web Services;87
5.4.3;Persisting Lookups;106
5.4.4;Building a Store Location Map;107
5.4.5;Summary;110
6;Beyond the Basics;111
6.1;Manipulating Third-Party Data;112
6.1.1;Using Downloadable Text Files;112
6.1.2;Screen Scraping;128
6.1.3;Summary;134
6.2;Improving the User Interface;135
6.2.1;CSS: A Touch of Style;136
6.2.2;Scripted Style;145
6.2.3;Data Point Filtering;153
6.2.4;RJS and Draggable Toolbars;156
6.2.5;Summary;157
6.3;Optimizing and Scaling for Large Data Sets;158
6.3.1;Understanding the Limitations;158
6.3.2;Streamlining Server- Client Communications;159
6.3.3;Optimizing Server- Side Processing;161
6.3.4;Optimizing the Client- Side User Experience;193
6.3.5;Summary;205
6.4;What’s Next for the Google Maps API?;207
6.4.1;Driving Directions;207
6.4.2;Integrated Google Services;208
6.4.3;KML Data;210
6.4.4;More Data Layers;210
6.4.5;Beyond the Enterprise;212
6.4.6;Interface Improvements;212
6.4.7;Summary;214
7;Advanced Map Features and Methods;215
7.1;Advanced Tips and Tricks;216
7.1.1;Debugging Maps;216
7.1.2;Interacting with the Map from the API;217
7.1.3;Creating Map Objects with GOverlay;221
7.1.4;Creating Custom Controls;227
7.1.5;Adding Tabs to Info Windows;230
7.1.6;Creating a Custom Info Window;233
7.1.7;Implementing Your Own Map Type, Tiles, and Projection;244
7.1.8;Summary;267
7.2;Lines, Lengths, and Areas;269
7.2.1;Starting Flat;269
7.2.2;Moving to Spheres;274
7.2.3;Working with Polylines;282
7.2.4;What About UTM Coordinates?;290
7.2.5;Running Afoul of the Date Line;292
7.2.6;Summary;293
7.3;Advanced Geocoding Topics;294
7.3.1;Where Does the Data Come From?;294
7.3.2;Geocoding Based on Postal Codes;299
7.3.3;Using the TIGER/ Line Data;303
7.3.4;Summary;319
8;Appendixes;320
8.1;Finding the Data You Want;321
8.1.1;Knowing What to Look For: Search Tips;321
8.1.2;The Cat Came Back: Revisiting the TIGER/ Line;322
8.1.3;Airports in TIGER/ Line;324
8.1.4;The Government Standard: The GeoNames Data;325
8.1.5;Shake, Rattle, and Roll: The NOAA Goldmine;325
8.1.6;For the Space Aficionado in You;327
8.2;Google Maps API;329
8.2.1;class GMap2;329
8.2.2;class GMapOptions;335
8.2.3;enum GMapPane;336
8.2.4;class GKeyboardHandler;336
8.2.5;interface GOverlay;337
8.2.6;class GInfoWindow;338
8.2.7;class GInfoWindowTab;339
8.2.8;class GInfoWindowOptions;339
8.2.9;class GMarker;339
8.2.10;class GMarkerOptions;341
8.2.11;class GPolyline;342
8.2.12;class GIcon;343
8.2.13;class GPoint;344
8.2.14;class GSize;344
8.2.15;class GBounds;345
8.2.16;class GLatLng;346
8.2.17;class GLatLngBounds;347
8.2.18;interface GControl;347
8.2.19;class GControl;348
8.2.20;class GControlPosition;348
8.2.21;enum GControlAnchor;349
8.2.22;class GMapType;349
8.2.23;class GMapTypeOptions;350
8.2.24;interface GTileLayer;351
8.2.25;class GCopyrightCollection;352
8.2.26;class GCopyright;352
8.2.27;interface GProjection;353
8.2.28;class GMercatorProjection;354
8.2.29;namespace GEvent;354
8.2.30;class GEventListener;355
8.2.31;namespace GXmlHttp;356
8.2.32;namespace GXml;356
8.2.33;class GXslt;356
8.2.34;namespace GLog;356
8.2.35;class GDraggableObject;357
8.2.36;enum GGeoStatusCode;358
8.2.37;enum GGeoAddressAccuracy;358
8.2.38;class GClientGeocoder;358
8.2.39;class GGeocodeCache;359
8.2.40;class GFactualGeocodeCache;360
8.2.41;class GMarkerManager;360
8.2.42;class GMarkerManagerOptions;361
8.2.43;Functions;361
9;Index;362