The Dull Conk Of The Google Maps Api

I convey been planning a bully Apr Fools joke for Google this year. On Apr 1st I was going to rename this weblog 'MapBox Mania' for the day. I planned to explicate this conclusion alongside a weblog post. The postal service would explicate that:

• there seems lilliputian sign of the Google Maps API squad returning from their 2 twelvemonth vacation
• that Google no longer seems interested inwards developing the Google Maps API
• at the same fourth dimension the MapBox squad has continued to acquaint in addition to has right away function past times the maps API of selection for close developers. 

It would convey been a funny Apr Fool's joke because at that spot is to a greater extent than than an chemical component subdivision of truth inwards the thought that MapBox in addition to LeafletJS convey usurped Google Maps equally the API of selection for many map developers.


As developers increasingly plow to Google's competitors I convey struggled to honour my daily quota of bully Google Maps based applications. This is 1 argue why I convey been reviewing to a greater extent than in addition to to a greater extent than maps built on other mapping platforms on Google .

For me the terminal major conception of regime annotation from the Google Maps API squad was dorsum inwards June 2012 alongside the unloose of animated symbols. During that fourth dimension MapBox in addition to LeafletJS convey emerged equally a major players inwards online mapping in addition to both appear to endure continually innovating piece the Google Maps API squad appear to endure happy exactly treading water.

Yesterday MapBox announced MapBox plugins, a collection of bully libraries that developers tin hand the axe add together to their maps past times only hotlinking to the rootage files. The libraries include a mark clustering solution, Leaflet Draw (a host of map drawing tools),  Leaflet Fullscreen in addition to a divulge of other useful libraries. You tin hand the axe cheque out the plugins inwards activity on the MapBox Examples page.

The tendency inwards online mapping at the 2nd seems to endure towards both e'er to a greater extent than powerful information visualizations in addition to towards storey maps. The Guardian's In Flight – Interactive Map is a bully event of both trends, using maps to visualize a lot of flying information in addition to to also say the storey of the history of commercial flight.

It was no surprise to me that The Guardian used LeafletJS to practise this interactive. I convey no incertitude that exactly 24 months agone the newspaper would convey used the Google Maps API for this variety of mapped interactive. Not whatsoever more.

The Google Maps API is dead, long alive MapBox.