The Google Maps API was created by Google to facilitate developers integrating Google Maps into their web sites, with their own data points. It is a free service, that currently does not contain ads, but Google states in their terms of use [1] that they reserve the right to display ads in the future.
By using the Google Maps API you can embed the full Google Maps on an external web site (minus driving directions and KML). Start by creating an API Key [2], it will be bound to the web site and directory you enter when creating the key. Creating your own map interface involves adding the Google JavaScript code to your page, and then using Javascript functions to add points to the map.
When the API first launched it lacked the ability to geocode addresses, requiring you to manually add points in (latitude, longitude) format. This has since been rectified.
At the same time as the release of the Google Maps API, Yahoo! released their own Maps API [3] . Both were released to coincide with the O'Reilly Where 2.0 Conference. Yahoo! Maps lacks international support and aerial photos, but included a geocoder in the first release.
See also
References
External links
- Google Maps API
- Google Maps API Documentation
- GoogleMapki Reference for Google Maps Developers
- Google Maps Book A site about developing your own Google Maps API Applications.