The Map class is, as you have probably figured out by now, the core piece behind your map. The map object(s) you create is the most important thing behind your map, as without a map object you can't do anything with layers or controls. In this chapter, we'll be talking about the Map class, which we've been taking for granted so far.
Understanding the Map class will enable us to do even more cool things with our applications, and provides a way for us to programmatically tell our maps what to do.
We've been using the Map class throughout the book so far without really knowing how or why. This chapter aims to not only explain how and why we've been doing things (such as using map.zoomToMaxExtent()), but also provide a thorough coverage of one of the core parts of OpenLayers—the Map class. We'll take a look at
What the Map class is
How the Map class relates to the other classes we've discussed
Accessing the Map class' properties
Using functions of the Map class
Working...