Google Maps API, AJAX and the running tool
After my sour grapes last week I decided to dig in to regain pole position for innovation with online pedometer tools so I spent the weekend upgrading WalkJogRun.net to create a running community. The key feature is the ability to add routes to the tool for all to share. Here are the highlights:
- User community can add their own routes and save them to the system for later retrieval and also for others to view
- Maps now use the Google Maps API
so no need to copy the URL of a map you want any more to use the
tool. I've also included a revision history so you can look at
some of the older versions
- England supported! I was browsing around the world
last night and I realized that the Google Maps include England and the
UK now. I've added cities I have a history with as quick links but will
be adding more.
- I used AJAX to retrieve routes as an XML packet of longitude an latitude nodes.
- AJAX also features in the address lookup feature to allow you to
quickly move from one area of the country to your starting street
address. Without reloading the whole page, I query the US census
bureau's public domain TIGER data to get Longitude and Latitude for a given address
- Each leg of your journey has an estimated duration (based on current speed) and mileage.
- Each route can be annotated to describe the route, for instance
to explain how hilly or how much traffic exists for a given route.
I'm working on a registration process so you can have a "My Routes" section and customize your experience. Currently any routes are saved under the username Guest.
As always, let me know what you think and I'll try to accomodate requests.