Choosing Tools to Visualize Data - Data Points: Visualization That Means Something - page 82

GooGLE, yAhoo, AND MICroSoFT MAPS
This is your easiest online solution; although, it does require a little bit of
programming. The better you can code, the more you can do with the map-
ping APIs offered by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.
The base functionality of the three is fairly similar, but if you're just start-
ing out, I recommend you go with Google. It seems to be the most reliable.
They have a Maps API in both JavaScript and Flash, along with other geo-
related services such as geocoding and directions. Go through the Getting
Started tutorial and then branch out to other items such as placing mark-
ers (Figure 3-24), drawing paths, and adding overlays. The comprehensive
set of code snippets and tutorials should quickly get you up and running .
FIGurE 3-24 Marker placement on Google Maps
Yahoo also has JavaScript and Flash APIs for mapping, plus some geoser-
vices, but I'm not sure how long it'll be around given the current state of
the company. As of this writing, Yahoo has shifted focus from applications
and development to content provider. Microsoft also provides a JavaScript
API (under the Bing name) and one in Silverlight, which was its answer to
Flash.