Google Maps Gets a Flash API
Today Google announced the availability of a Google Maps API for Flash which means you can now use Google Maps right inside of your Flash applications. Big, big stuff. I built an AIR application that used Google Maps and had to go through the HTML control but this will make all of that obsolete.
It’s great to see Google continue to use Flash and at least bring some of their APIs up to parity with Flash. With things like the open screen project Adobe is working very hard to be a friend of the open web. In my mind this is a pretty good example that Flash is becoming just as important on the web as JavaScript. From the Google blog:
So, what do I like about the API for Flash? Smoothness and speed are a big part of it. We’ve designed it so that Flash graphics can be used for each tile layer, marker and info window – opening up possibilities like dynamic shading, shadowing, animation, and video. When the user zooms the map, magnification changes happen smoothly and place names fade in. After the user drags a marker, it gently bounces to a halt. Generally, Flash allows for much greater embellishment, and, well… “flashiness.” I get excited just thinking about the creative ways developers might take advantage of having a Flash API for Google Maps.
And a Flex Component from Igor Costa.
Posted in Rich Internet Applications
May 14th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Ryan can you really tell me you call this a flash API?
it’s a flex api it’s uses the flex swc file adn the flex display API. I know you can argue that the swf defines it as flash but if you can’t use it in the flash IDE should you still call it a flash API? to be honest I feel left out and abandoned by the action script community because I use the flash IDE.
May 14th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Hi there Ryan
I did a little update on the component, could you link again with the new one?
Regards
Igor Costa
new link http://www.igorcosta.org/?p=141
May 14th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
The terms of service state that the Google Maps API cannot be used on anything but web sites. I had to drop a Gmaps app from a book chapter on AIR because of this.
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/faq.html#tos_nonweb
May 15th, 2008 at 4:12 am
This is great news! I had written a blog post detailing my having to use iframes and dynamically changing the z-index and all that trickery in order to use a Google map inside a Flex application with popups. Now this API solves all of that. I wonder if Google will be updating their SearchMash site?
May 15th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Ryan,
Just a note about AIR applications from Google:
Disappointing to say the least, I was really hoping to put together an AIR application. Kind of dulls my excitement of having the maps API, hopefully they can work through these issues quickly.