Beginning Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax: From Novice to Professional
- Media: Book (Paperback, 384 pages)
- ISBN: 1590597079
- Publisher: Apress
- Release Date: Aug 14, 2006
Product Description
There is much to like about this book. The explanations are straightforward, the code is readable, the examples are relevant, and the writing style is approachable.
— Michael J. Ross, Web developer/Slashdot contributor
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.
Needs improvement
The recommended [...] site is a unusable, can't find Phoenix, Arizona and doesn't explain how to format your lat longs. Code samples are in tar, instead of zip format. Not a show stopper, but another annoyance. And lets face it, there are enough annoyances just learining a new API.
Practical help
Must buy
You can check out the table of content and sample chapters from its website.
I enjoyed reading it and therefore I highly recommend it for Google Map developers.
From a Web Programing Instructors point of View
As a Web Programming Instructor, I am always searching for easy ways to get my students motivated. Page 2 of Chapter 1 shows an XML and XHTML strict - but the code is so straight forward - that you are not in the least intimidated with the strict XHTML. To find something students can relate to that gives a solid example of two abstract things - is great. There is nothing to be intimidated with, the explanations are clear and the web site - give corrections. Each chapter offers a lot fore each level user.
Chapter 1 is fun for a wide range of web skills: Web Development, Digital Photographers, Digital Imaging, and more advanced.
Chapter 2 - gives the JavaScript, XHTML developer's lots of detail on what is going on in the script. Each exercise builds on the previous one, until by the end of the chapter you have a robust program, you can use immediately.
Chapter 3 - adds user input, it begins the discussion of adding to a Database & Ajax. You have a dialog wit the authors of why they did what they did - it's insight to working with a database. The chapters keep getting richer and draw you in. You hate to put it down!
Appendix B has a generous 28 page summary of the important API commands, making learning Google Maps API easier.
I am adding this to my Reference Book list
and it will defiantly be a required reading for Advanced PHP classes.
Jil MacMenamin
http://JilMac.com
Very clear and focused in real solutions
Must have-read book if you are working in a Google Maps project.