8/3 Google Cont. - Geocoding

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Start at: 8.30 a.m.
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Today i am working so i will be doing on and off work when i can, i'll try keep track of this any how. BUT what i want to achieve is to carry on with the following list and what i was doing yesterday:

1. Geocoding
2. Creating markers on the page by clicking and getting these long/lat co-ords & address
3. Make a map that makes a route from one place to another
4. Make the same route add on another end point
5. Format and get the directions information and display this
6. Finish project proposal and send in
7. Get more info on how to implement google maps into an app (curiosity)
8. Figure out how their drag and drop of routes works

Basically just have fun and play around with some code and be productive at the same time.

Yesterday i was having a look at http://mapmaker.donkeymagic.co.uk/ and the code used to implement this. I need to gather the X and Y value code that passes back where the user is clicking. Also i would like to be able to add the markers when the user clicks on the map and maybe add a balloon which gives the area of the click.

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Break 9.30 - Getting job instructions, mwahahaha
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10.00 a.m.
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Atm i am trying to learn a little bit more of the basics to Jscript as i've never used it before, though i'm sure its pretty much php with a different name haha. Here's a quick example of arrays, this tutorial is super basic, but revision never hurt any one.... Cant miss out w3schools either ;)

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Break 11.30
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1 tin of baked beans + 1 can opener + 0 spoons = new student low, eating from tin (like drinking from it...) Food me eat. Theres no body around, so its ok.

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11.45 a.m.
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Do i have something on my face? Hmmmm i dont really apear to have done much... maybe i talk to myself too often... (I am in a 4 story building alone... it gets lonely :P) Well i shall carry on looking at the ub3r complicated code.

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Break 12.40
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Finish 3.00 p.m. - 3ish hours
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ARG day of nothing >:(

7/3 Gooooogle - Geocoding

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Start at: 9.00 a.m.
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OK! Today, more Gooooooogle. No productive work as far because wirless is stoopid.
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9.45 a.m.
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What i want to do today(maybe tomorow):

1. Geocoding
2. Creating markers on the page by clicking and getting these long/lat co-ords & address
3. Make a map that makes a route from one place to another
4. Make the same route add on another end point
5. Format and get the directions information and display this
6. Finish project proposal and send in
7. Get more info on how to implement google maps into an app (curiosity)
8. Figure out how their drag and drop of routes works

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Break 10.30 - Appointment
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12.45 p.m.
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So far i have just been trying to find some useful articles that do more than the basics, not so much luck as of yet (but i suck at teh intehnet searching) but atm i am reading this which talks about Googles geocoding service and how to use it. Here is the code i'm trouble shooting atm, for some reason it doesnt work... gah.

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5.00 p.m.
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YES YES YES! I'm such a noob... Anyhow i got it to work... i was missing a function hehehehehe *twitch*. OK SO what this map does is geocodes an address i give it (normally you need latlong) and gets the details of the location for me, this is then passed to geocoder.getLocations which in turn gives back the place and latlong. What we can then do with this is set the map center position (map.setCenter(point, 13)) to the point that is returned. A marker is added to that point and an info window displays the results.

The reason i need to know how to do this is because when i implement my application i will need to geocode the addresses of clients/jobs at some point, and this does that for me.

Hang on a sec, you say, what is geocoding?

Well: Mapping services find locations using lat and long giving them an address is useless, SO we have to use a geocoderthingymabobby to determine the exact location by giving it the address and getting back the co-ordinates. This however is not always accurate as the geocoderthingymabobby makes some asumptions that can lead to the wrong address, the wrong part of the street etc etc. For more info: click meeeee, please!

I found this awesome site that has some kool code. (spent an hour and half playing round with various bits of code, trying to piece them together)

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Break 7.30
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8.30 p.m.
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Still piecing together stuff... and things :) Well for tonight this will do, i have still got to fix the code that determines where the user is clicking and get the long/lat from this.

I found an awesome website that does alot of the stuff i'm trying to learn, just that i have to siv through all the code and work it out ---> Here!

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10.00 p.m. - Bed! Total hours: 7ish
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Conclusion for today: i have looked at geocoding and started creating markers on the page by clicking and getting these long/lat co-ords & address, so far only almost got the markers working (i hope) We shall see tomorow.

Good night!

http://ejohn.org/blog/one-week-of-google-maps-3/
http://www.google.com/search?q=google+maps+API&hl=en&pwst=1&start=60&sa=N
http://groups.google.gy/group/Google-Maps-API/browse_thread/thread/d9bc7f34728680d0/e7f370cd62ed9f3f?#e7f370cd62ed9f3f
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/reference.html#GEventListener
http://ejohn.org/apps/gscale/
http://mapmaker.donkeymagic.co.uk/

6/3 Research API's Cont. Choose API

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Start at: 8.00 a.m.
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OK, lets have a look at the conclusions i made about each API.

Virtual Earth
Virtual Earth is very easy to use (at least for the stuff i did), and although there is no specific pricing, there may be some licensing possible for businesses that are MSDN subscribed. The functionality of what i did is just what i need, although google maps has kool features such as dragging and dropping pin points, i dont really need that functionality. Next up Yahoo! Maps.... /scared.

Google Maps
Google FTW (For The Win :P), easy to use, LOTS of examples and tutorials out there, has all the functionality i need. Costs a bit of money to use for a proper application however, and this is something that may be a problem for most small businesses.

Yahoooo
Yahoo! Maps API is super simple to use and implement and is generally slower than the other maps, however the fact that it doesnt map New Zealand and Australia is an instant epic fail.

Hrrmmm well the two obvious ones are Google and Microsoft, what to do what to do. Because originally i was going to make this application for a specific business, but now its gonna be generic, but still implemented there i am more inclined to use M$ because i have been provided the developer account etc... but why? I shall ponder on this one for a while. It does look like i like Google the bestest, but this is mainly because of the extra kool functionality, but will i use these features or need to use them? Probly not. Microsoft is super fast and has awesome arial views, but will i need this?

Hang on, what do i need? The fastest basic map that can do that can make routes and different stop points. Now Google does this better than M$. OK what i need to do is have a talk to one of the developers at the company i am making this application for. Email sent!!! OK... ummm what to do now. Next, webservices.

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8.50 a.m.
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Webservices, what are they?

"Web service refers to a modular application that can be invoked through the Internet. The consumers of Web services are other computer applications that communicate, usually over HTTP, using XML standards including SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI. Web services allow application integration through different standards."From here.

Why use them?

Well the obvious reasons are that they allow interoperability between existing systems & applications, the re-use of the already written code (calling the same functions from different applications), the expandibility (is that a word?) of the same application onto different devices such as PDA's, cell phones etc.

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Break 9.15 - time to get up and get to tec, stupid rain.
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10.15 a.m. - At tec now after a bus ride putting up with a few baboons.
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Re-looking at google liscencing.

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Break 10.45 - Appointment.
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12.00 p.m.
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So i got an email response saying:
"Just keep in mind any licensing cost that may be incurred when an app is deployed.
But it is your project so do what you want. Don’t worry about us, it is more the knowledge gained that we can learn from."

soooo..... this means..... I HAVE CHOSEN GOOOOGLE!!!! Sorry Microsoft Mwahahaha (i'll be using the rest of your technology...)

OK SO. Why Google Maps? you ask. well...

Google besides just being sexy and awesome and having a kool interface has everything and more that i need. The main reason however is the fact that it is easy to set up multiple routes (which is the main thing i'll be doing), the API is easy to use and the end result is fast and easy to use.

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Break 12.15 - Lunch
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12.30 p.m. - Nooooodles
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OK, just reading some more stuff on webservices.

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1.45 p.m. - Sleeeeeeepy caffiene not working
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Doing some more implementation with Google Maps, will link when done :). Atm i am playing around with getting google maps into a windows application instead of a webpage. Will see how it goes. <-- carry on with this tomorow

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Break 3.00 p.m. - Meeting
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4.00 pm. - 6.00 p.m. Project Management Class
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6.45 p.m.
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Do more on draft of project proposal and post some stuff up on moodle for project management & other general web surfing for information.

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Finish 8.15 p.m. 8ish hours
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5/3 Research API's Cont. Yahewww Maps

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Start at: 10.00 a.m. ... I hope
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Another day... of work. Sighith, yahoo(this isnt me cheering) i shall start in the morning hmmm.

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Start at: 8.00 a.m.
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Here is where i will begin.

OK somehow i got looking at licensing stuff,

"Yahoo! reserves the right to charge fees for future use of or access to the Yahoo! Maps APIs or the Yahoo! services and web sites (collectively, "Yahoo! Maps APIs Services") in Yahoo!'s sole discretion. If Yahoo! decides to charge for the Yahoo! Maps APIs Services, such charges will be disclosed to you prior to their effect. Yahoo! also reserves the right to include advertising in or associated with the maps images provided to you through the Yahoo! Maps APIs. Similarly, if Yahoo! decides to include advertising, such decision will be disclosed to you prior to its effect."

Ewwww evil advertising. But apparently there are no fees?

OK carrying on with more important stuff... i have applied for a developer account, and got a key for the application i will play around with. So far the process of setting up this key seemed a little more strict than the other ones, as i had to provide a website, a description, my phone number etc. Which is annoying because i'm not "reaaaly" making a proper application.

Your application id is fpw4OQvV34FRVdZWur6SuqgDKrDnAI4yt499aqxdv124ynUZOuZqKG960u0e35o.

Please note that the maps dont work anymore, but the code is still viewable.

Super <--- heres the page i will be updating, at the moment its just showing a basic map.
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Break 9.00 - time to get up.............. its cold.
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12.00 p.m.
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Carry on... My new spiffy edition comes with the ebility to click and get the longitude and latitube of that location.

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Break 1.00 p.m.
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9.00 p.m.
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This new version adds some simple polyline functionality. Because i'm tired and Yahoo! Maps obviously isnt going to picked due to its lack of world mapping i am going to stop here and make a conclusion.

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Conclusion!!

Yahoo! Maps API is super simple to use and implement and is generally slower than the other maps, however the fact that it doesnt map New Zealand and Australia is an instant epic fail.

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Tomorow i will choose which API i will continue in more detail and add more about that specific mapping service.

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9.30 p.m. Finish - 2 and half hours... oops haha
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4/3 Research API's Cont. Microsoft Virtual Earth

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Start at: 9.00 a.m.
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Today will be spent playing around with Microsoft Virtual Earth, my main resource being MSDN. Heres a simple example of basic routing ---> Click Meeee (i'm going to be naughty and use the google hosting for the microsoft stuff hehehehe).

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Break 10.30
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OMG long break... heh... heh yarg

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1.30 p.m.
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Working on project management, and project proposal

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2.30 p.m.
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Back to looking at Microsoft. MSDN provides a few simple tutorials in making simple maps, but mainly they have alot of code examples. Getting Started Page. Will carry on looking at functionality of virtual earth SDK after class. Will try make a route some where in NZ and see how easy it is. HERE is a good example of simple searching, have a look at the code.

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4.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.
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Class

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6.45 p.m.
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Back to work! Ok so ive implemented my own very very very simple map! woohoo of nelson ---> ClickMeeee. The next version will have a route mapped out!

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Break 8.30
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9.30 p.m.
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OK fix Jscript! Here's a good site for figuring out the Latitude and Longitude of a point.

Wootage <--- Theres a map of nelson going from otterson street to hardy street with directions :D So basically so far what ive done with Virtual Earth has been super easy, now time to look at the liscencing :\. Terms of Use Here. /sigh, no actual price, but this is the liscensing page.


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Conclusion!!!

Virtual Earth is very easy to use (at least for the stuff i did), and although there is no specific pricing, there may be some licensing possible for businesses that are MSDN subscribed. The functionality of what i did is just what i need, although google maps has kool features such as dragging and dropping pin points, i dont really need that functionality. Next up Yahoo! Maps.... /scared.

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Finish at: 10.30 a.m. 6ish Hours
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3/3 Research API's Cont. Google Maps

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Start at 10.00 a.m.
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Just having a quick look of the interface of yahoo, Google and M$ just to see how they work at the user end.

Yahoo! Maps
Yahoo sucked, it only does America (well not NZ, and thats all that matters :P), was slow and I didn’t like their interface. Got no sense out of my searching, it didnt suggest anything it just gave me an error, and sometimes it didnt do anything at all... Once i got it working however it was much like Google Maps, just slower. Oh and it also had advertising >:(

Google Maps NZ
Google rocks! Easy to use, first time it worked just from typing in the two addresses. You can add multiple stop points! ZOMG. You can click and drag to change the route, 10 points.

Windows Live Maps
Microsoft live search isn’t as good at guessing the routes, but it gives you a list of suggested places you may be looking for which is fantastic. It’s fast and has “hybrid” view which is really cool. Google zooms right in with the aerial view, but windows live search does not, however this isn’t a feature I will need to implement.

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11.30 a.m.
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Google API
Having a quick look at the API, the resources so far look really good. At some stage i will implement a quick easy page and play around with the methods.

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Break 11.45-12.30 p.m. - Lunch & Project Meeting
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12.30 p.m.
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Carry on with the google API then move onto the M$ one. I am doing a Google Maps tutorial, which is really good ---> Click me! An hour or so later... after a cup of tea, i have created my very own google map! Woohoo... wasnt too hard, i havent added in any directions or paths yet. But check it out ---> Test (To view the code involved go to view>source). http://pages.google.com/ allows you to create and quickly publish files.

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Break 2.00-4.00 p.m.
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4.00 P.m.
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After doing a couple of tutorials (and some copying and pasting....) from Econym i have come up with this ---> Woot. Well just really figured out how it works.

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5.30 P.m.
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Tea time, OMG FOOOD.

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5.37 P.m.
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Mmmmm lettuce salad and chocolate, ooo mini easter eggs. OK time to figure out how to make routes. Wowowowoweeewa, a tad bit more complicated... perhaps for a rainy day when i have decided google, yahoo or M$. Heres a small example of the routing, a bit late in the evening to figure it out ---> Ouch. I also thought i better read the terms and conditions and find out what liscencing they have, and i found one part to be of interest:

"In addition, except where you have been specifically licensed by Google to do so, You may not use the Service with any products, systems, or applications installed or otherwise connected to or in communication with vehicles for or in connection with: (a) real time route guidance (including without limitation, turn-by-turn route guidance and other routing that is enabled through the use of a sensor); (b) any systems or functions for automatic or autonomous control of vehicle behavior; or (c) dispatch, fleet management or similar applications. "

Enterprize Info Here.

Oh my

"A: Pricing for Google Maps for Enterprise is based on the number of page views and geocode requests handled by the Google Maps for Enterprise API and starts at $10,000 per year. Please contact us for more information. "

*twitch*

Hrmmmm, thats nasty, FAQ. However, this is either for a certain number of transactions (not entirely sure how many yet)

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Conclusion!

Google FTW (For The Win :P), easy to use, LOTS of examples and tutorials out there, has all the functionality i need. Costs a bit of money to use for a proper application however, and this is something that may be a problem for most small businesses.

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Google Maps API Resources

Econym
mapki
bdcc
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Finish at 6.30 P.m. - Maybe 6ish hours? hmmm
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