Google Maps Flash API - Distributed components/services
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Comments
Published
Monday, May 19, 2008
at
10:52 AM
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Google, yes, Google released a pure AS3 Mapping engine last week while I was on vacation. With all the Flash Player 10 news it was not seen by many and essentially overlooked. It is really great to see Google Maps leverage ActionScript 3 and even more exciting to understand the architecture they chose. The Google Maps Flash API is the first major component to work distributed as the core logic remains on google servers and the API you program with is just a simple proxy loading the remote SWF and that SWF talks back to Google to get data and tiles as a service. This has some very distinct benefits:
1. Updates - With the Google Maps API, Google can fix core bugs or add features without requiring an updated developer API. It also requires no changed to sites that have deployed the Map engine.
2. Security - The security model of this component model allows for more fine grained control over use of the API and services. Currently the API support developer keys and restricts use to a domain. This is essential if you wanted to put more valuable services in like ads or maybe pay a website owner using an AdSense like model.
Seeing Google explore using Flash Player and AS3 as a distributed model for services is exciting. As Google is primarily a service based company (search, ads, email, news are all services) I am sure we will see this core architecture leveraged for many other properties.
Google Maps Flash API
Basic Turtorial
Examples
Example Source
Congrats to the Google Maps team!
Ted :)
Has anyone mousewheel-support in the examples under OS X? I have Flash Player 9...
This is great! Tx Google!
Looks like you'll get to meet some of the Google Maps Flash API team at webDU :)
http://www.webdu.com.au/
It works great, I added to my application :), actually Yahoo maps does not provide as much zoom comparing with Google maps.
My application can be seem at
http://www.adsmap.net
great!
thanks