Google Maps - EBT's dot grid

MDeen · Post by **MDeen** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:22 pm

I believe there is no topic about an overlay for Google Maps. There is one for Google Earth, but that is a whole different piece of cake.

Google has presented us a fine site of API's for showing a Google Map online with usergenerated lines and markers on it. Great to use for EuroBillTracker of course.

I made a very modest start for this, it can be found on my website. If I did it right and requested the correct API key, you can run it from my website, otherwise you have to download the html file to your local PC and run it from there.

As you can see, this is only the very beginning (only the lat-long lines are present), what is needed is to read the csv file and place the markers or even make shaded area's like the official EBT dot-map and of course some cosmetic things on the page itself.
But it's a start.

I made this with the API's Rectangle method, for some reason or another I can't get anything on the screen with the GPolyline method.

Anyone who justs wants to code something usefull is welcome to do so. Just send me the code and I'll add the credits.

klapotec · Post by **klapotec** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:37 pm

MDeen wrote:I made a very modest start for this, it can be found on my website. If I did it right and requested the correct API key, you can run it from my website

Yay, it works! Cool!!!

MDeen wrote:Unfortunatly this is IE only because the API's are in javascript.

I have no problem running it in Firefox on Linux, but that may be because JavaScript is mostly browser-independent

MDeen · Post by **MDeen** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:34 pm

klapotec wrote:
MDeen wrote:Unfortunatly this is IE only because the API's are in javascript.
I have no problem running it in Firefox on Linux, but that may be because JavaScript is mostly browser-independent

Oh, yes, I see it now. I thought JS was a IE thing.
(I was confused, VBScript is the IE thing)

I'll edit my post.

androl · Post by **androl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:42 pm

sorry, the dots are wrong
for (var iLon = -12; iLon <= 54; iLon += 0.88)
has to be
for (var iLon = -12; iLon <= 54; iLon += 0.8407643)
or more exactly
for (var iLon = -12; iLon <= 54; iLon += 2*66/157)

and then
new GLatLng(71, iLon + 66/157));

MDeen · Post by **MDeen** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:24 am

androl wrote:sorry, the dots are wrong
for (var iLon = -12; iLon <= 54; iLon += 0.88 )
has to be
for (var iLon = -12; iLon <= 54; iLon += 0.8407643)
or more exactly
for (var iLon = -12; iLon <= 54; iLon += 2*66/157)

and then
new GLatLng(71, iLon + 66/157));

Thanks for the correction. I thought so too, I had an older function that did use the 157 wide, but I read a topic somewhere stating that the longitude lines were separated bij 0.44. So I was confused and couldn't find the reference to 157 again.

I will change it this afternoon.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to read the csv file using javascript, but that does not seem to be very easy.
JS does have very powerful XML functions, so the easy option will be to convert the csv file to XML. I think this would also be a nice option for the notes download page, since XML will also be supported by the new spreadsheets (openoffice has it already, Excel probably in the next version)

I also got the GPolyline to work, but this makes ugly big lines, so I think I'll stick to the rectangle to display the latitude and longitude lines. Especially because when you zoom out too far, the lines as they are now make for a very cluttered map.

Fjon · Post by **Fjon** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 2:44 pm

Good work!
The grid doesn't seem to match up correctly for Ireland though. Here is the grid from Google Earth, which looks quite different:

http://lh5.google.com/fklein/RRvDTVM4AB ... imgmax=512

http://lh5.google.com/fklein/RRvDRN85AB ... imgmax=512

MDeen · Post by **MDeen** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 4:57 pm

This was probably because of my faulty calculation of the longitude lines. This is now corrected and it looks better now.

I have added (and commented out) some lines of code for reading an xml file. This works, but the next issue is to sort the note locations and get the unique note locations from the list.
It is not necessary to plot a marker twice on the same spot, and I've seen that putting markers on the map is quite a slow process.

androl · Post by **androl** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:01 pm

thanks, it looks really good

Klazu · Post by **Klazu** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:33 pm

I haven't read this whole thread, so I might be wrong here, but wasn't there already earlier some grid of dots for the Google Earth? I at least remember using one before. I just want to know, what's new with this grid?

JP Simões · Post by **JP Simões** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:37 pm

There was one for Google Earth (as MDeen stated). This one is for Google Maps.

coach vahid · Post by **coach vahid** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:43 pm

good job

Klazu · Post by **Klazu** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:46 pm

Zé da Silva wrote:There was one for Google Earth (as MDeen stated). This one is for Google Maps.

Oh yeah, that's right. Those are different thing. Didn't notice the difference.

But wait a minute...what's the difference? How does these two maps differ? One is to be used with Google Earth programm and one is for the internet application Google Maps?

androl · Post by **androl** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:52 pm

yes, everyone can use the GM version, while only someone with GE running on a fast computer can use the GE version.
There was however already the GM version of ernie, but it is made with an old version, you can't use the maps (only satellite) and it's very slow

MDeen · Post by **MDeen** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 12:01 am

Klazu wrote:
Zé da Silva wrote:There was one for Google Earth (as MDeen stated). This one is for Google Maps.
Oh yeah, that's right. Those are different thing. Didn't notice the difference. But wait a minute...what's the difference? How does these two maps differ? One is to be used with Google Earth programm and one is for the internet application Google Maps?

Correct. And the method of making an overlay for both is different.
I don't have Google Earth installed and I don't know why I would want to if it is available online.
Plus, you can use this map when you're away from home, in an internet café, on your PDA.
I do notice that Pocket IE will not show it and Opera Mobile fills the rectangles. More work to do.

androl wrote:yes, everyone can use the GM version, while only someone with GE running on a fast computer can use the GE version.
There was however already the GM version of ernie, but it is made with an old version, you can't use the maps (only satellite) and it's very slow

I wasn't aware of that one. Did he post it in a message somewhere?
At first glance it looks the same. There are no controls for map/satellite/hybrid and the lines are all polylines (which do not seem to work properly after zooming in), but the method is basically the same.

ErGo · Post by **ErGo** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 8:34 am

I only can say: FANTASTIC!

I wait a long time for this, because i never could use Google Earth. For Austria there was an extra program which was called A-MAP, where you
could make such an overlay, but for the rest of europe i missed this!!!! Thank you

EuroBillTracker

Google Maps - EBT's dot grid

Google Maps - EBT's dot grid

Re: Google Maps - EBT's dot grid

Re: Google Maps - EBT's dot grid