Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360 panoramic views of streets , real-time traffic conditions, and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bicycle and air, or public transportation.
In some cities, Google Maps offers street views comprising photographs taken from vehicles. Google Maps began as a C++ desktop program at Where 2 Technologies. In October 2004, the company was acquired by Google, which converted it into a web application. After additional acquisitions of a geospatial data visualization company and a realtime traffic analyzer, Google Maps was launched in February 2005. The service's front end utilizes JavaScript, XML, and Ajax.
Google Maps offers an API that allows maps to be embedded on third-party websites, and offers a locator for businesses and other organizations in numerous countries around the world. Google Map Maker allowed users to collaboratively expand and update the service's mapping worldwide but was discontinued from March 2017. However, crowdsourced contributions to Google Maps were not discontinued as the company announced those features will be transferred to the Google Local Guides program.
Mobile Applications
Google Maps for Android and iOS devices was released in September 2008 and features GPS turn-by-turn navigation along with dedicated parking assistance features. In August 2013, it was determined to be the world's most popular app for smartphones, with over 54% of global smartphone owners using it at least once.
Google Maps JavaScript API
The Maps JavaScript API lets you customize maps with your own content and imagery for display on web pages and mobile devices. The Maps JavaScript API features four basic map types (roadmap, satellite, hybrid, and terrain) which you can modify using layers and styles, controls and events, and various services and libraries.
Google Maps Javascript V3 API component, providing Web Blocks and Actions to add interactive maps, markers and directions, along with event driven functionality.
Main features:
Add Maps to your Web Screens, followed by Markers and Directions;
Bind functionality through Events supported by the API;
Ability to add these components through Web Blocks and Actions;
Customize through JSON objects as defined in the API.
Added Bounds support
Google Maps offers several services as part of the larger Web application, as follows.
A route planner offers directions for drivers, bikers, walkers, and users of public transportation who want to take a trip from one specific location to another.
The Google Maps application program interface (API) makes it possible for Web site administrators to embed Google Maps into a proprietary site such as a real estate guide or community service page.
Google Maps for Mobile offers a location service for motorists that utilizes the Global Positioning System (GPS) location of the mobile device (if available) along with data from wireless and cellular networks.
Google Street View enables users to view and navigate through horizontal and vertical panoramic street level images of various cities around the world.Supplemental services offer images of the moon, Mars, and the heavens for hobby astronomers.
Google Maps Downloader can download the small tiles and save them to your hard disk, including the normal maps, satellite maps, hybrid maps and terrain maps. Google Maps Downloader is an application that will help us to download all the images that we want, by simple inputting the exact coordinates of the location.