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Google Maps Hacks
by
tonyC
—
last modified
2007-12-30 18:08
Review by Tun Wai Yip, September 2006
 |
| 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. |
| The book start off with the basics of the Google map API. It then covers some mashup projects where data is drawn from different websites to be presented on the maps. It went on to describe different ways to integrate with GPS data, draw routes, add pictures and add annotation to a map. There are even some independently developed API that extend Google Map beyond its basic functionality. Among the 70 hacks, one of my favorite is Hack #28 "How big is that" where one can superimpose shapes of familiar countries or areas to anywhere in the world for comparison. The http://www.onnyturf.com/subwaymap.php NYC subway map (hack 66-68) is the most impressive one where the author has added a new subway map type on top of the 3 types that Google provides. |
| The expertise level of this book is from intermediate to high. On one hand many detail code samples are included. They should would give people with moderate programming skill a head start. On the other hand the information is very dense with each project covered in only a few pages. A hacking spirit is certainly necessary to build anything useful out of this. |
| More than anything, this is a book that should be read while you are sitting in front of computer checking out the many web resources referenced. Here it shows the strain between the physical world and the online world. I have passed up many websites because it was just a hassle to type all those long URLs. This can be easily fixed if only they publishes all the links on the http://mappinghacks.com/ Mapping Hacks home page. |
| While O'Reilly should be commended for creating the hacks series to illustrate creative use of technology, the world do not stand still. Shortly after this book is published, Google has upgrade their API from v1 to v2. A good number of hacks referenced has stopped working or has moved on to something new. Readers should aware this book is essentially short lived. Perhaps it is time to consider an O'Reilly Hacks magazine. |