In this chapter we will be using the following services to create a 'find closest' mashup plugin:
Google Maps APIs including geocoding services
Yahoo geocoding services (part of Yahoo Maps APIs)
Geocoder.us geocoding services
Geocoder.ca geocoding services
Hostip.info
Google Maps is a free web-based mapping service provided by Google. It provides a map that can be navigated by dragging the mouse across it and zoomed in and out using the mouse wheel or a zoom bar. It has three forms of views—map, satellite and a hybrid of map and satellite. Google Maps is coded almost entirely in JavaScript and XML and Google provides a free JavaScript API library that allows developers to integrate Google Maps into their own applications. Google Maps APIs also provide geocoding capabilities, that is, they able to convert addresses to longitude and latitude coordinates.
We will be using two parts of Google Maps:
Firstly to geocode addresses as part of GeoKit's APIs
Secondly...