History of GmapPackage
{maketoc}
This package helps you include Google Maps for your bitweaver site and helps you manage and share content across your maps. It is being designed like wiki to enable collaborative development of Google Maps.
You must obtain a Google Map API Key for your site to use the package. You can sign up for a key [http://www.google.com/apis/maps/signup.html|here] - it is quick and painless and best of all, Free. After you install the package and have your key, you can plugin your key value for your site in the Gmap preferences.
!!Summary of Current State of Development
AJAX basic editing and adding of Maps and Markers is working. The editing interface is compatible with I.E. 6 and Firefox 1.5. and 1.0.7. The tools have been tested in Opera 8.5 but Opera is choking on a javascript process that copies data from an array into html forms. This is a bit strange as the marker editing UI and Polyline editing UI are nearly identical.
__Next is to implement creation and editing for:__
* Marker Sets
* Marker Styles
* Icon Styles
* Polylines (some of this is already done)
* Polyline Sets
* Polyline Styles
* Map Types
__Some known bugs__
* Deleting of Markers happens in database but does not show up on live map.
!!Other Next Steps
!!!Short Term Goals
* Get editing UI working Opera 8.5
* Test editing UI in prior versions of Mozilla browsers
* Test editing UI in Safari 1.2.4+ (google maps is no compatible with lower versions)
* Resolve bugs in current editing features.
** Multiple instances of same Marker are not updated when changed
** Engine does make use of z-index property of Markers
* Support both init Markers (markers that a plotted onload) and set Markers (markers that go into a menu but do not load on the map itself)
* Wiki Syntax for all text
* Escape special characters etc for XML
!!!Long Term Goals
* Make auto map height possible
* Integrate other hack libraries (see map hacks below)
* Wikify the map and markers
Also note:
The core AJAX functions and the editing UI in the package have been rewritten utilizing the AJAX [http://prototype.conio.net/|Prototype] library. The Prototype library is to be used in the development of all other AJAX features.
You can get the latest version of the package by getting module _bit_map from bitweaver CVS.
Sometimes a proof of concept is working at [http://www.wjamesphoto.com/bw/gmap/index.php?gmap_id=1|this link]...if you find its not working, I am probably actively testing code changes. If so, you can find me on the bitweaver channel. But I will try to keep it working between changes. -wjames5
!!Some Stumbling Blocks
* How to create admin features
* How to define features that get using like:
+ {code}$gBitSystem->isFeatureActive( 'feature_listMaps' ){/code}
!!Framework
The GmapPackage uses a sets model for associating markers, markericons, maptypes, polylines, polygons, and their styles with maps.
Through the use of various keychains, each object may be associated with many maps, many sets of obejcts, and many styles. Each map has a key chain which associates it with sets of markers, maptypes, polylines, and polygons. Marker Sets, Polyline Sets, and Polygon Sets in turn each have individual objects as well as styles with which they are associated. The reason for this is multifold.
One advantage of this sets model is it makes it easier to share individual markers, polyline, and polygons with various maps and sets of each object. For example a marker can be in any number of sets, and those sets can be on any number of maps. This makes it much easier to share content across multiple maps. This could be especially value where say you might want to mash up particular information like restaurants, or art events with something universal like subway stops. Once you create a set of subway stops, then you could reuse that on multple maps mixing it with other data.
The other advantage is that styles can be divorced from content. This is both valuable for customizing the look and feel of the same map data on a map by map basis, as well as optimizing the database and lightening page weight. Each set contains a reference to a style. If a new look and feel is desired for a set of markers, that set only need be duplicated and a new style assigned. However none of the actual marker or polyline or polygon data is duplicated, only the reference to that data. This thus reduces redundancy while following in the W3C ideal of seperating data from style.
This use of sets also makes for lighter db queries and page weight. For each style used that style is only delivered to the client once, each object in a set then references that one style. This is faster and more efficient than packaging style information with each object...especially as one starts to use tens to hundreds of like styled objects on one map.
!!Goal
The goal of this project is to create a package that lets you edit a [http://maps.google.com|Google Map] like a wiki. In the distant future it would be nice to support XML importing and integration with Flickr.
Th package will take the best features of sites like [http://www.wikyblog.com|WikyBlog-Maps], [http://www.pixeldevelopment.com/virtualgoogleearth.asp|VirtualGoogleEarth], and [http://geobloggers.com|GeoBloggers] and merge them in to a package for hosting your own wikimap rather than having to use the existing services which are limited to their hosting, their feature implementation, and their look and feel.
If you want to join in I'm not a professional programmer, but have faith, this is going to be sweet, and spiderr is giving great guidance. If you do want to help out you should probably email me at wjames5 -at - nyc.rr.com or find me on irc #bitweaver before jumping in.
!!Code
You can get the latest stage of development by checking out ___bit_map__ from CVS HEAD branch.
!!Google Map Hacks to Include
*[http://xmaps.busmonster.com/documentation.html|XMap Library]
*[http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API/search?hl=en&group=Google-Maps-API&q=GxMarker&qt_g=1&searchnow=Search+this+group|GxMarkers] Tools
*[http://gmaps.tommangan.us/tlabel.html|T-Labels]
*[http://www.pixeldevelopment.com/pdmarker.asp|PdMarker]
*Custom Map Tiles
*Geocoding
!!References
*[http://mapki.com/index.php?title=Knowledge_Base#Developer_Tools|Mapki Developer Tools]
*[http://www.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/|Official Google Maps API]
*[http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API|Google Maps API News Group on Google Groups]
*[http://mapki.com]
*[http://www.flickr.com/services/api/|Flickr API]
*[http://www.flickr.com/services/api/key.gne|Flickr API Key Application]
!!Some Other Useful Stuff
!!!Bitweaver Stuff
*[http://81.138.11.136:8080/bitweaverdocsPHP/|Bitweaver Class Tree]
*[http://www.bitweaver.org/wiki/TP-Structures|List of BW tables and structures]
*[http://81.138.11.136:8080/bitweaverdocs//////__filesource/fsource_kernel__kernelBitDb.php.html#a498|Built-in Database Query functions available from bw kernel]
!!!Programming Stuff
*PrototypeDocumentation
*[http://digir.sourceforge.net/nightly/DiGIRprov/lib/adodb/docs-datadict.htm|ADODB Data Dictionary for PHP]
*[http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/tutorials/index.php?tut=0&part=25|Javascript and Navigating the Dom Tree]
*[http://smarty.php.net/manual/en/language.escaping.php|Using Javascript with Smarty] and elegant solution.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join_%28SQL%29|DB JOIN FAQ on Wikipedia]
*[http://rafb.net/paste/|Code Paste Board]
*[http://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/MIRRORS/ftp.mysql.com/doc/en/CREATE_INDEX.html|Creating Indeces for your database tables] as declaired in schema_inc.php
*[http://www.bitweaver.org/wiki/ThemeTutorial#sourcecode|Modifying Smarty for Debugging HTML]
*[http://www.cs.tut.fi/%7Ejkorpela/forms/choices.html|Guide to HTML Forms]
*[http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=108345|Opera 9 beta]
*[http://my.opera.com/community/customize/setups/|Opera Tools for Web Dev]
*[http://nontroppo.org/wiki/webdevtoolbar|Another Opera tool bar] and [http://nontroppo.org/wiki/MooseCSS|more]
----
!!How to set up your own custom package
This is stuff I have learned about creating packages for bitweaver while creating this GMap Package.
!!!Download the "Sample Package" from this site
!!!Setting up your database tables
Database (DB) Tables are defined in "schema_inc.php"
This file goes in your __admin__ folder. Each package has one of these.
Some conventions to follow when building these:
*use single quotes on DB table scheme defaults
*underscore between each word in table names
!!!Including tpl files in the page header
The bitweaver Kernel is set up to automatically include header information from all packages. Any information you want included in the HTML HEAD you put in a file named "header_inc.tpl" which goes in your package's _templates_ folder.
To create conditional header includes simply nest tpl files in the header_inc.php file. You can do this by using the this include code:
{CODE()}{ include file="bitpackage:yourpackagename/subheader.tpl"}
{CODE}
!!!Creating the dropdown and side panel menus
Each package has teplate file that has its menus. You need to explicitly declair what you want in a menu in your own template file. For an example see the wiki package menu_wiki.tpl which you can find at:
wiki/templates/menu_wiki.tpl
This package helps you include Google Maps for your bitweaver site and helps you manage and share content across your maps. It is being designed like wiki to enable collaborative development of Google Maps.
You must obtain a Google Map API Key for your site to use the package. You can sign up for a key [http://www.google.com/apis/maps/signup.html|here] - it is quick and painless and best of all, Free. After you install the package and have your key, you can plugin your key value for your site in the Gmap preferences.
!!Summary of Current State of Development
AJAX basic editing and adding of Maps and Markers is working. The editing interface is compatible with I.E. 6 and Firefox 1.5. and 1.0.7. The tools have been tested in Opera 8.5 but Opera is choking on a javascript process that copies data from an array into html forms. This is a bit strange as the marker editing UI and Polyline editing UI are nearly identical.
__Next is to implement creation and editing for:__
* Marker Sets
* Marker Styles
* Icon Styles
* Polylines (some of this is already done)
* Polyline Sets
* Polyline Styles
* Map Types
__Some known bugs__
* Deleting of Markers happens in database but does not show up on live map.
!!Other Next Steps
!!!Short Term Goals
* Get editing UI working Opera 8.5
* Test editing UI in prior versions of Mozilla browsers
* Test editing UI in Safari 1.2.4+ (google maps is no compatible with lower versions)
* Resolve bugs in current editing features.
** Multiple instances of same Marker are not updated when changed
** Engine does make use of z-index property of Markers
* Support both init Markers (markers that a plotted onload) and set Markers (markers that go into a menu but do not load on the map itself)
* Wiki Syntax for all text
* Escape special characters etc for XML
!!!Long Term Goals
* Make auto map height possible
* Integrate other hack libraries (see map hacks below)
* Wikify the map and markers
Also note:
The core AJAX functions and the editing UI in the package have been rewritten utilizing the AJAX [http://prototype.conio.net/|Prototype] library. The Prototype library is to be used in the development of all other AJAX features.
You can get the latest version of the package by getting module _bit_map from bitweaver CVS.
Sometimes a proof of concept is working at [http://www.wjamesphoto.com/bw/gmap/index.php?gmap_id=1|this link]...if you find its not working, I am probably actively testing code changes. If so, you can find me on the bitweaver channel. But I will try to keep it working between changes. -wjames5
!!Some Stumbling Blocks
* How to create admin features
* How to define features that get using like:
+ {code}$gBitSystem->isFeatureActive( 'feature_listMaps' ){/code}
!!Framework
The GmapPackage uses a sets model for associating markers, markericons, maptypes, polylines, polygons, and their styles with maps.
Through the use of various keychains, each object may be associated with many maps, many sets of obejcts, and many styles. Each map has a key chain which associates it with sets of markers, maptypes, polylines, and polygons. Marker Sets, Polyline Sets, and Polygon Sets in turn each have individual objects as well as styles with which they are associated. The reason for this is multifold.
One advantage of this sets model is it makes it easier to share individual markers, polyline, and polygons with various maps and sets of each object. For example a marker can be in any number of sets, and those sets can be on any number of maps. This makes it much easier to share content across multiple maps. This could be especially value where say you might want to mash up particular information like restaurants, or art events with something universal like subway stops. Once you create a set of subway stops, then you could reuse that on multple maps mixing it with other data.
The other advantage is that styles can be divorced from content. This is both valuable for customizing the look and feel of the same map data on a map by map basis, as well as optimizing the database and lightening page weight. Each set contains a reference to a style. If a new look and feel is desired for a set of markers, that set only need be duplicated and a new style assigned. However none of the actual marker or polyline or polygon data is duplicated, only the reference to that data. This thus reduces redundancy while following in the W3C ideal of seperating data from style.
This use of sets also makes for lighter db queries and page weight. For each style used that style is only delivered to the client once, each object in a set then references that one style. This is faster and more efficient than packaging style information with each object...especially as one starts to use tens to hundreds of like styled objects on one map.
!!Goal
The goal of this project is to create a package that lets you edit a [http://maps.google.com|Google Map] like a wiki. In the distant future it would be nice to support XML importing and integration with Flickr.
Th package will take the best features of sites like [http://www.wikyblog.com|WikyBlog-Maps], [http://www.pixeldevelopment.com/virtualgoogleearth.asp|VirtualGoogleEarth], and [http://geobloggers.com|GeoBloggers] and merge them in to a package for hosting your own wikimap rather than having to use the existing services which are limited to their hosting, their feature implementation, and their look and feel.
If you want to join in I'm not a professional programmer, but have faith, this is going to be sweet, and spiderr is giving great guidance. If you do want to help out you should probably email me at wjames5 -at - nyc.rr.com or find me on irc #bitweaver before jumping in.
!!Code
You can get the latest stage of development by checking out ___bit_map__ from CVS HEAD branch.
!!Google Map Hacks to Include
*[http://xmaps.busmonster.com/documentation.html|XMap Library]
*[http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API/search?hl=en&group=Google-Maps-API&q=GxMarker&qt_g=1&searchnow=Search+this+group|GxMarkers] Tools
*[http://gmaps.tommangan.us/tlabel.html|T-Labels]
*[http://www.pixeldevelopment.com/pdmarker.asp|PdMarker]
*Custom Map Tiles
*Geocoding
!!References
*[http://mapki.com/index.php?title=Knowledge_Base#Developer_Tools|Mapki Developer Tools]
*[http://www.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/|Official Google Maps API]
*[http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API|Google Maps API News Group on Google Groups]
*[http://mapki.com]
*[http://www.flickr.com/services/api/|Flickr API]
*[http://www.flickr.com/services/api/key.gne|Flickr API Key Application]
!!Some Other Useful Stuff
!!!Bitweaver Stuff
*[http://81.138.11.136:8080/bitweaverdocsPHP/|Bitweaver Class Tree]
*[http://www.bitweaver.org/wiki/TP-Structures|List of BW tables and structures]
*[http://81.138.11.136:8080/bitweaverdocs//////__filesource/fsource_kernel__kernelBitDb.php.html#a498|Built-in Database Query functions available from bw kernel]
!!!Programming Stuff
*PrototypeDocumentation
*[http://digir.sourceforge.net/nightly/DiGIRprov/lib/adodb/docs-datadict.htm|ADODB Data Dictionary for PHP]
*[http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/tutorials/index.php?tut=0&part=25|Javascript and Navigating the Dom Tree]
*[http://smarty.php.net/manual/en/language.escaping.php|Using Javascript with Smarty] and elegant solution.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join_%28SQL%29|DB JOIN FAQ on Wikipedia]
*[http://rafb.net/paste/|Code Paste Board]
*[http://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/MIRRORS/ftp.mysql.com/doc/en/CREATE_INDEX.html|Creating Indeces for your database tables] as declaired in schema_inc.php
*[http://www.bitweaver.org/wiki/ThemeTutorial#sourcecode|Modifying Smarty for Debugging HTML]
*[http://www.cs.tut.fi/%7Ejkorpela/forms/choices.html|Guide to HTML Forms]
*[http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=108345|Opera 9 beta]
*[http://my.opera.com/community/customize/setups/|Opera Tools for Web Dev]
*[http://nontroppo.org/wiki/webdevtoolbar|Another Opera tool bar] and [http://nontroppo.org/wiki/MooseCSS|more]
----
!!How to set up your own custom package
This is stuff I have learned about creating packages for bitweaver while creating this GMap Package.
!!!Download the "Sample Package" from this site
!!!Setting up your database tables
Database (DB) Tables are defined in "schema_inc.php"
This file goes in your __admin__ folder. Each package has one of these.
Some conventions to follow when building these:
*use single quotes on DB table scheme defaults
*underscore between each word in table names
!!!Including tpl files in the page header
The bitweaver Kernel is set up to automatically include header information from all packages. Any information you want included in the HTML HEAD you put in a file named "header_inc.tpl" which goes in your package's _templates_ folder.
To create conditional header includes simply nest tpl files in the header_inc.php file. You can do this by using the this include code:
{CODE()}{ include file="bitpackage:yourpackagename/subheader.tpl"}
{CODE}
!!!Creating the dropdown and side panel menus
Each package has teplate file that has its menus. You need to explicitly declair what you want in a menu in your own template file. For an example see the wiki package menu_wiki.tpl which you can find at:
wiki/templates/menu_wiki.tpl