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I'm wondering - why didn't you use Google Maps and perhaps create custom tiles? It doesn't seem like I can pan on the map? I recently founded a start-up focuse

I'm wondering - why didn't you use Google Maps and perhaps create custom tiles? It doesn't seem like I can pan on the map? I recently founded a start-up focused on mapping, and we use Google Maps API, along with YUI for ajax - www.trailbehind.com Basically, while Google is fetching and rendering the map tiles, we fetch up "overlays" in parallel, using YUI async requests. Overlays are the waypoints and trails on the map, along with metatdata about the places. To make the maps snappy, we cache various map views in static files as JSON. I don't know that you want to reinvent the wheel, especially when you don't have the resources to make it feature complete (panning and zooming the map).

mark_h 18y ago
I can recommend OpenLayers as well -- a very clean codebase too, in my experience to date. It can combine multiple different data sources (including google maps), as well as having a wealth of controls and hooks available. It doesn't seem like that's quite the use-case required here though.
- wensing 18y ago
  I like OpenLayers, but JS maps have always seemed a bit slow and clunky to me. What's the most graphically intensive use of OpenLayers you know of?
axod 18y ago
I agree. Google maps is built for this sort of thing. People know how to use google maps, panning, zooming, etc.
JoelSutherland 18y ago
Andrew, here is the response to the very same comment you left on the blog: I've used the Google Maps API before (it was actually marine science related! I worked with a professor to track Sea Turtle migration in the Atlantic) but it wasn't a good fit for the project. We have a very limited dataset and the panning of Google Maps would have been more distracting than anything else. By doing things this way, users wouldn't find themselves somewhere without interesting data.
- andrewljohnson 18y ago
  You can turn panning off, and Google maps still might have been better for your purposes. It has many nice features such as an Event library, customizable overlays, and the ability to draw polylines and polygons. And you could have easily sliced up your artist's images into tiles. I think it would have saved you time, and probably left your client with more maintainable and extendable code. A lot of people know the Google Maps API.

mark_h 18y ago

I can recommend OpenLayers as well -- a very clean codebase too, in my experience to date. It can combine multiple different data sources (including google maps), as well as having a wealth of controls and hooks available. It doesn't seem like that's quite the use-case required here though.

wensing 18y ago
I like OpenLayers, but JS maps have always seemed a bit slow and clunky to me. What's the most graphically intensive use of OpenLayers you know of?

axod 18y ago

I agree. Google maps is built for this sort of thing. People know how to use google maps, panning, zooming, etc.

JoelSutherland 18y ago

Andrew, here is the response to the very same comment you left on the blog: I've used the Google Maps API before (it was actually marine science related! I worked with a professor to track Sea Turtle migration in the Atlantic) but it wasn't a good fit for the project. We have a very limited dataset and the panning of Google Maps would have been more distracting than anything else. By doing things this way, users wouldn't find themselves somewhere without interesting data.

andrewljohnson 18y ago
You can turn panning off, and Google maps still might have been better for your purposes. It has many nice features such as an Event library, customizable overlays, and the ability to draw polylines and polygons. And you could have easily sliced up your artist's images into tiles. I think it would have saved you time, and probably left your client with more maintainable and extendable code. A lot of people know the Google Maps API.