Beginning Google maps applications with PHP and Ajax : from novice to professional

Until recently, building interactive web-based mapping applications has been a cumbersome affair. This changed when Google released its powerful Maps API. Beginning Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax was written to help you take advantage of this technology in your own endeavorswhether you're an enthusiast playing for fun or a professional building for profit. This book covers version 2 of the API, including Google's new Geocoding service.

Authors Jeffrey Sambells, Cameron Turner, and Michael Purvis get rolling with examples that require hardly any code at all, but you'll quickly become acquainted with many facets of the Maps API. They demonstrate powerful methods for simultaneously plotting large data sets, creating your own map overlays, and harvesting and geocoding sets of addresses. You'll see how to set up alternative tile sets and where to access imagery to use for them. The authors even show you how to build your own geocoder from scratch, for those high-volume batch jobs.

As well as providing hands-on examples of real mapping projects, this book supplies a complete reference for the Maps API, along with the relevant aspects of JavaScript, CSS, PHP, and SQL. Visit the authors' website for additional tips and advice.

Foreword	p. xv
About the Authors	p. xix
About the Technical Reviewer	p. xxi
Acknowledgments	p. xxiii
Part 1 Your First Google Maps
Chapter 1 Introducing Google Maps	p. 3
KML: Your First Map	p. 3
Wayfaring: Your Second Map	p. 5
Adding the First Point	p. 6
Adding the Flight Route	p. 7
Adding the Destination Point	p. 8
Adding a Driving Route	p. 9
What's Next?	p. 10
Chapter 2 Getting Started	p. 13
The First Map	p. 13
Keying Up	p. 13
Examining the Sample Map	p. 15
Specifying a New Location	p. 16
Separating Code from Content	p. 18
Cleaning Up	p. 20
Basic Interaction	p. 21
Using Map Control Widgets	p. 21
Creating Markers	p. 21
Opening Info Windows	p. 23
A List of Points	p. 26
Using Arrays and Objects	p. 26
Iterating	p. 28
Summary	p. 29
Chapter 3 Interacting with the User and the Server	p. 31
Going on a Treasure Hunt	p. 32
Creating the Map and Marking Points	p. 33
Starting the Map	p. 33
Listening to User Events	p. 35
Asking for More Information with an Info Window	p. 37
Creating an Info Window on the Map	p. 38
Embedding a Form into the Info Window	p. 39
Avoiding an Ambiguous State	p. 44
Controlling the Info Window Size	p. 46
Using Google's Ajax Object	p. 48
Saving Data with GXmlHttp	p. 49
Parsing the XML Document Using DOM Methods	p. 54
Retrieving Markers from the Server	p. 57
Adding Some Flair	p. 59
Summary	p. 62
Chapter 4 Geocoding Addresses	p. 63
Creating an XML File with the Address Data	p. 63
Using Geocoding Web Services	p. 65
Requirements for Consuming Geocoding Services	p. 66
The Google Maps API Geocoder	p. 67
The Yahoo Geocoding API	p. 75
Geocoder.us	p. 80
Geocoder.ca	p. 83
Services for Geocoding Addresses Outside Google's Coverage	p. 85
Caching Lookups	p. 86
Building a Store Location Map	p. 90
Summary	p. 93
Part 2 Beyond the Basics
Chapter 5 Manipulating Third-Party Data	p. 97
Using Downloadable Text Files	p. 97
Downloading the Database	p. 98
Parsing CSV Data	p. 101
Optimizing the Import	p. 102
Using Your New Database Schema	p. 106
Screen Scraping	p. 113
A Scraping Example	p. 114
Screen Scraping Considerations	p. 117
Summary	p. 118
Chapter 6 Improving the User Interface	p. 119
CSS: A Touch of Style	p. 119
Maximizing Your Map	p. 120
Adding Hovering Toolbars	p. 121
Creating Collapsible Side Panels	p. 124
Scripted Style	p. 126
Switching Up the Body Classes	p. 126
Resizing with the Power of JavaScript	p. 129
Populating the Side Panel	p. 131
Getting Side Panel Feedback	p. 134
Warning, Now Loading	p. 136
Data Point Filtering	p. 139
Showing and Hiding Points	p. 140
Discovering Groupings	p. 140
Creating Filter Buttons	p. 141
Summary	p. 143
Chapter 7 Optimizing and Scaling for Large Data Sets	p. 145
Understanding the Limitations	p. 145
Streamlining Server-Client Communications	p. 146
Optimizing Server-Side Processing	p. 148
Server-Side Boundary Method	p. 149
Server-Side Common Point Method	p. 155
Server-Side Clustering	p. 161
Custom Detail Overlay Method	p. 167
Custom Tile Method	p. 176
Optimizing the Client-Side User Experience	p. 186
Client-Side Boundary Method	p. 187
Client-Side Closest to a Common Point Method	p. 188
Client-Side Clustering	p. 191
Further Optimizations	p. 196
Summary	p. 198
Chapter 8 What's Next for the Google Maps API?	p. 199
Driving Directions	p. 199
Integrated Google Services	p. 200
KML Data	p. 202
More Data Layers	p. 202
Beyond the Enterprise	p. 204
Interface Improvements	p. 204
Summary	p. 205
Part 3 Advanced Map Features and Methods
Chapter 9 Advanced Tips and Tricks	p. 209
Debugging Maps	p. 209
Interacting with the Map from the API	p. 210
Helping You Find Your Place	p. 211
Force Triggering Events with GEvent	p. 212
Creating Your Own Events	p. 214
Creating Map Objects with GOverlay	p. 214
Choosing the Pane for the Overlay	p. 214
Creating a Quick Tool Tip Overlay	p. 216
Creating Custom Controls	p. 220
Creating the Control Object	p. 222
Creating the Container	p. 222
Positioning the Container	p. 222
Using the Control	p. 223
Adding Tabs to Info Windows	p. 223
Creating a Tabbed Info Window	p. 224
Gathering Info Window Information and Changing Tabs	p. 226
Creating a Custom Info Window	p. 226
Creating the Overlay Object and Containers	p. 232
Drawing a LittleInfoWindow	p. 232
Implementing Your Own Map Type, Tiles, and Projection	p. 237
GMapType: Gluing It Together	p. 237
GProjection: Locating Where Things Are	p. 238
GTileLayer: Viewing Images	p. 244
The Blue Marble Map: Putting It All Together	p. 247
Summary	p. 258
Chapter 10 Lines, Lengths, and Areas	p. 261
Starting Flat	p. 261
Lengths and Angles	p. 262
Areas	p. 263
Moving to Spheres	p. 266
The Great Circle	p. 266
Great-Circle Lengths	p. 268
Area on a Spherical Surface	p. 269
Working with Polylines	p. 274
Building the Polylines Demo	p. 274
Expanding the Polylines Demo	p. 280
What About UTM Coordinates?	p. 281
Running Afoul of the Date Line	p. 283
Summary	p. 284
Chapter 11 Advanced Geocoding Topics	p. 285
Where Does the Data Come From?	p. 285
Sample Data from Government Sources	p. 286
Sources of Raw GIS Data	p. 289
Geocoding Based on Postal Codes	p. 290
Grabbing the TIGER/Line by the Tail	p. 294
Understanding and Defining the Data	p. 295
Parsing and Importing the Data	p. 299
Building a Geocoding Service	p. 305
Summary	p. 311
Part 4 Appendixes
Appendix A Finding the Data You Want	p. 315
Knowing What to Look For: Search Tips	p. 315
Finding the Information	p. 315
Specifying Search Terms	p. 316
Watching for Errors	p. 316
The Cat Came Back: Revisiting the TIGER/Line	p. 316
More on Airports	p. 318
The Government Standard: The Geonames Data	p. 319
Shake, Rattle, and Roll: The NOAA Goldmine	p. 319
For the Space Aficionado in You	p. 321
Crater Impacts	p. 321
UFO/UAP Sightings	p. 322
Appendix B Google Maps API	p. 323
class GMap2	p. 323
GMap2 Constructor	p. 323
GMap2 Methods	p. 324
class GMapOptions	p. 328
GMapOptions Properties	p. 328
enum GMapPane	p. 328
GMapPane Constants	p. 329
class GKeyboardHandler	p. 329
GKeyboardHandler Bindings	p. 329
GKeyboardHandler Constructor	p. 329
interface GOverlay	p. 329
GOverlay Constructor	p. 330
GOverlay Static Method	p. 330
GOverlay Abstract Methods	p. 330
class GInfoWindow	p. 330
GInfoWindow Methods	p. 330
GInfoWindow Event	p. 331
class GInfoWindowTab	p. 331
GInfoWindowTab Constructor	p. 331
class GInfoWindowOptions	p. 331
GInfoWindowOptions Properties	p. 331
class GMarker	p. 331
GMarker Constructor	p. 332
GMarker Methods	p. 332
GMarker Events	p. 332
class GMarkerOptions	p. 333
GMarkerOptions Properties	p. 333
class GPolyline	p. 333
GPolyline Constructor	p. 333
GPolyline Methods	p. 333
GPolyline Event	p. 334
class Glcon	p. 334
Glcon Constructor	p. 334
Glcon Constant	p. 334
Glcon Properties	p. 334
class GPoint	p. 335
GPoint Constructor	p. 335
GPoint Properties	p. 335
GPoint Methods	p. 335
class GSize	p. 335
GSize Constructor	p. 336
GSize Properties	p. 336
GSize Methods	p. 336
class GBounds	p. 336
GBounds Constructor	p. 336
GBounds Properties	p. 336
GBounds Methods	p. 336
class GLatLng	p. 337
GLatLng Constructor	p. 337
GLatLng Methods	p. 337
GLatLng Properties	p. 338
class GLatLngBounds	p. 338
GLatLngBounds Constructor	p. 338
GLatLngBounds Methods	p. 338
interface GControl	p. 339
GControl Constructor	p. 339
GControl Methods	p. 339
class GControl	p. 339
GControl Constructors	p. 339
class GControlPosition	p. 339
GControlPosition Constructor	p. 340
enum GControlAnchor	p. 340
GControlAnchor Constants	p. 340
class GMapType	p. 340
GMapType Constructor	p. 340
GMapType Methods	p. 340
GMapType Constants	p. 341
GMapType Event	p. 341
class GMapTypeOptions	p. 341
GMapTypeOptions Properties	p. 342
interface GTileLayer	p. 342
GTileLayer Constructor	p. 342
GTileLayer Methods	p. 342
GTileLayer Event	p. 343
class GCopyrightCollection	p. 343
GCopyrightCollection Constructor	p. 343
GCopyrightCollection Methods	p. 343
GCopyrightCollection Event	p. 343
class GCopyright	p. 343
GCopyright Constructor	p. 343
GCopyright Properties	p. 344
interface GProjection	p. 344
GProjection Methods	p. 344
class GMercatorProjection	p. 344
GMercatorProjection Constructor	p. 344
GMercatorProjection Methods	p. 345
namespace GEvent	p. 345
GEvent Static Methods	p. 345
GEvent Event	p. 346
class GEventListener	p. 346
namespace GXmlHttp	p. 346
GXmlHttp Static Method	p. 346
namespace GXml	p. 346
GXml Static Methods	p. 347
class GXslt	p. 347
GXslt Static Methods	p. 347
namespace GLog	p. 347
GLog Static Methods	p. 347
enum GGeoStatusCode	p. 347
GGeoStatusCode Constants	p. 348
class GClientGeocoder	p. 348
GClientGeocoder Constructor	p. 348
GClientGeocoder Methods	p. 348
class GGeocodeCache	p. 348
GGeocodeCache Constructor	p. 349
GGeocodeCache Methods	p. 349
class GFactualGeocodeCache	p. 349
GFactualGeocodeCache Constructor	p. 349
GFactualGeocodeCache Method	p. 349
Functions	p. 349
Index	p. 351

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