MapQuest Developer Network Blog

You may have noticed that MapQuest.com has a new style to its maps today. We're celebrating this launch on the SDK team by pushing an extra special update to the JavaScript and ActionScript 6.0 SDKs in Beta to enable the new map style.

While we're at it, we also added a few other things to the JavaScript SDK. Namely:

• A new Overview Map control you can add to the main map
• A documentation overhaul for presentation
• New Documentation sections, including how to do your own custom POIs

Check the Developer Network Beta section for the latest AS3 Packages (AS3 Release 3) and for JavaScript include string and docs (JS Release 4).

And now, because a picture can paint a thousand words - a totally gratuitous amount of screenshots!

If you like these, you can see more, and read more, on the main MapQuest Blog

The New North America (Zoom Level 2).

The new map style with Globe View turned on in the AS3 SDK.

New map Style with the Overview Map control in the JavaScript SDK.

New Map Style with a Draggable Route added and in mid-drag.

Not to be outdone by the latest beta releases from the Services Team the SDK team have a brand new Directions module for the Actionscript/Flex SDK that uses the new Directions Service already in production.

ActionScript SDK Updates

Available on the Developer Network Beta page.

Completely new Directions module

There is a new Directions.swc which replaces all the routing functionality previously found in the AdvantageApi.swc - this is a complete overhaul and upgrade to the object model and how you use it - it is now MUCH MUCH simpler and saner - and smaller!

Simplified Routing Function

Create a route object, pass in your locations, provide your map object, and watch the route ribbon and stop-icons appear on the map automagically. Provide an event handler to receive the directions narrative. Done!.
If you are a power-user type, you can dive under the covers to provide all the different options available from the underlying Directions Service or customize the look and feel of the route ribbon and stop-icons that are added to the map.

The code would look something like this:

this.myMap = new TileMap("YOUR_KEY_HERE");
//create an array of locations
var arrLocations:Array = new Array();
arrLocations = ['Lancaster, PA', 'York, PA'];

//create the Directions object, hand in map object and locations array
this.dir = new Directions(myMap, arrLocations);
//Success Listener - handle the narrative here
dir.addEventListener(DirectionsEvent.DIRECTIONS_SUCCESS, doSuccess);

//get the route
dir.route(); 		

Draggable Routes!

If you want your users to be able to drag the route, then on the directions object, just add dir.ribbonIsDraggable = true; before asking for the route - at the end of each drag, your directions success event handler is called again so you can handle the updated narrative - that's it. done!

Optimized Routing

With Optimized Routing, all of the stops between the first and last are reordered for the shortest overall distance or drive time, giving the most efficient path for visiting several locations on a single journey. Instead of calling the dir.route(); function, use the dir.optimizedRoute(); to get an optimized route.

Route Matrix

A Route Matrix request in the Directions Web Service will return a quick and easy calculation of the distances and drive times between a bunch of points. Nothing gets added to the map, the results are returned to your success listener, but you set up the directions object in the same way as a regular route and then call, for example, dir.routeMatrix(); instead.

Stay Tuned!

Work continues as we revitalize, enhance, upgrade, streamline, and simplify our web services and SDKs. It remains our goal to roll out each project to beta at the end of every sprint if possible (some things take more than one sprint). I hope to be back here soon with a nother blog post announcing more cool things

Hot on the heels of last week's releases we have another two Beta updates.

Geocoding Web Service Updates

Available at http://platform.beta.mapquest.com/geocoding.

Overhauled Documentation

First thing you'll notice is overhauled documentation and better examples for the previously available functions of geocode and reverse geocode. It should now match the style of the other services.

Batch Geocoding

We've added a new function that lets you geocode up to 100 addresses at once. Each address has its own ambiguity list returned in the results.

Map Biasing

If you provide a Map Bounds with your geocode request, then we will move the ambiguity results that are within the map area to the top of the list. For example, if you geocode the city of Lancaster, and prove a map bounds which contains south central PA, then Lancaster, PA will be at the top of the return list instead of Lancaster, CA.

ccTLD Biasing

We now default the first country used for geocoding to the country code found in your top level domain, instead of always to the U.S. For example, if your website is "myAwesomeSite.co.fr" we'll try geocoding in France first, instead of in the U.S. You can of course always override this merely by providing us the country as part of the address.

Ambiguity Static Maps

We've hooked the geocoding service up to the Static map service. Now, each ambiguity in the results also has a URL that provides a simple static map of the ambiguous location

Static Map Web Service Updates

Available at http://platform.beta.mapquest.com/staticmap.

Custom Icons

You can now provide us with the URLs of your own custom icons for use on the static Maps. Because we cache the icons for performance, there is a new function to flush an icon from our cache, in case you update the icon.

New Image Formats

You can now get static maps as .jpeg, .png, or .gif formats. the new parameter is imagetype=.

All Icons Available from pois= Parameter

All the icons used by the mcenter, pcenter, scenter, ecenter, and stop parameters are also now available as icon names for the pois= parameter.

More to Follow Coming Soon!

As we continue to iterate on our projects, we are striving to maintain a schedule of releasing new versions to beta every two weeks, with new features, bug fixes, and upgraded documentation, until the projects are complete and roll out to production. Stay tuned for more beta versions coming over the next weeks.

Along with today's relaunch of the MapQuest Developer Network, we're also launching two new products to go with it.

Directions Web Service

First is our new Directions Web Service, which frees you of having to use a language-specific SDK for directions data and provides maximum flexibility in how you integrate those directions into your application.

Features include:

• Basic and Advanced Routing
• Route Matrix
• Draggable Routes

Long URL Web Service

One of the issues with Internet Explorer is that it has a 2048 character limit for URLs. This is problematic for long GET requests, since the URL could be truncated and cause an invalid request.

The Long URL Web Service provides a solution to this by allowing your request to be split up in chunks. We then provide a single response.

Easy to Use

Both of these products kick off our new approach to helping developers. The documentation also contains the working code samples with source code, and all of it lives along-side the service.

More to Come

More Web Services are in the works. Check out the Beta section of the MapQuest Developer Network to try out our Geocoding Web Service and our Static Map Web Service.

DevNet Next

MapQuest is happy to announce the launch of a completely rebuilt and revised MapQuest Developer Network. Our goal is to make it easy for the growing development community to get started with the MapQuest Platform and for experienced developers to find what info they need fast.

What's New

Documentation Made Easy

Our new Web Services and upcoming 6.0 SDKs will have a simpler and concise set of documentation so you can view instructions, variables, samples, and source code all at-a-glance.

Consolidated Application Management

Your applications are now attached to MapQuest My Places. No more tracking multiple sets of credentials for the various MapQuest applications you manage. Access all of your account settings, tools, and resources from one place. If you were a user of our TRC, we've provided an easy way to migrate your accounts.

Reorganized Site; Cleaner Interface

Site content is now organized by product and technology, each with a dedicated forum to discuss topics with other developers. The site also has a cleaner look.

Check It Out

Please give our updated Developer Network a look and let us know what you think.

We've had a lot of excitement this month with multiple launches and cool projects. We wanted to make sure that we also highlight our recently updated JavaScript 6.0 SDK Beta. In the latest build, we've got some great additions to the feature set:

• Overlay support, including CircleOverlay for quickly showing a radius
• Routes can now be run without needing a map
• Wrapper functions for easy access to the Directions Web Service RouteMatrix call

The big new feature this time is support for iPhone/Mobile Safari events such as pinchToZoom. When Mobile Safari is detected, the support module is automatically included, registering touch events.

In a few lines of code, you can also take advantage of the geolocation services in the device and default your map the the user's location.

navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(
  function(position) {
    map.setCenter(
      {
        lat:  position.coords.latitude,
        lng:  position.coords.longitude
      }
    );
  }
);

More news and announcements coming soon. Stay tuned.

In addition to auditioning for sitcoms at the studios, MapQuest will be at the Adobe Max conference in Los Angeles, October 4th-7th. We'll be talking to developers, showing demos of our MapQuest Platform using the current 5.3 AS3 SDK and our upcoming 6.0 SDK (currently in Beta). My colleague Ant will also be demonstrating his ability to cry on cue for any casting directors in attendance.

We've also partnered with Adobe to power an Interactive Map of the area. The MapQuest-built Adobe Max Locator application will show conference goers nearby restaurants, hotels, conference shuttle locations, and other hot spots near the Los Angeles Convention Center, home to this year's event.

If you're heading to Adobe Max, stop by and say "Hi!" We'll be in Community Pavilion Booth #843, sitting next to you in the Sessions, or in line to audition for the parts of "Guys in Background" for an upcoming episode of "How I Met Your Mother."

In recent weeks we've had a string of updates talking about new services and features we've been working on. Today we've got two new Web Services we're releasing into beta and a feature update for the Beta Directions Web Service.

Geocoding Web Service

We're jazzed to release the Geocoding Web Service into beta. You can now make a simple request containing an address and the service will return a latitude and longitude.

http://platform.beta.mapquest.com/geocode/v1/address
?location=lancaster%20pa
&key=YOUR_KEY_HERE


You can also make a request containing the Latitude and longitude and we'll tell you the address of that location.

http://platform.beta.mapquest.com/geocode/v1/reverse
?lat=40.0378
&lng=-76.305801
&key=YOUR_KEY_HERE


Static Map Web Service

While interactive and draggable maps are useful for many things, sometimes a good ol' single map image is what's needed for your application. While we've made these maps available for well over a decade, you can now build them using our new Static Map Web Service. This allows you to easily create, configure, and return a map image. this includes adding POI icons, traffic data, or shapes to you maps.

This also means you can easily embed a map into any web page without writing or embedding any code. Just insert the map like any other image.

http://platform.beta.mapquest.com/staticmap/v3/getmap
?type=map
&size=400,200
&zoom=7
&center=40.054600,-76.313100
&key=YOUR_KEY_HERE


Directions Web Service

Powered by our new Static Map Web Service, you can now return a static map image for each maneuver of a route narrative. Like on MapQuest.com, this will allow you to show your users a map containing additional detail of the transition to their route.

More information is available on our Developer Network Beta page and included in the MapQuest Platform: Web Services Documentation.

MapQuest is on the road to Austin, Texas - hopefully to speak on panels at SXSW Interactive. Over on our sister blog for MapQuest.com, we've got an overview of the two panels we're stumping for votes:

The Blog Post Where We Solicit for 2010 SXSW Interactive Panel Votes

If you already know how SXSW works and want to jump straight to the voting, here's the panel info:

• Time + Social + Location. What's Next In Mobile Experiences?
  Panelists include experts from:
  • AIM
  • Brightkite
  • FortiusOne / GeoCommons
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Geo
• Social Breadcrumbing - Tying Networks Together by Phone

Thanks for the PanelPicker votes and see you in Austin!

So we have a bonanza of beta and preview updates to share with you. We've been busy making a number of updates to the MapQuest Platform and we've been creating new Web Services and revising our client-side SDKs.

Here's what we've got to show you today:

AS3 SDK 6.0 - NEW!

We're happy to introduce the preview release of our AS3 SDKs, Version 6.0. This rewrite makes the SDK more modular, create smaller final .swfs, and add and improve a number of new features like:

• POI Decluttering Refactored
• Our popular Globe View has been refactored and made a separate component. We've even added a handy feature to let the globe reorient itself when you've turned your world upside-down.
• New Control Component style (Ocean Breeze) to match the ones available on MapQuest.com
• Raster images are now remotely loaded. So your application only pulls in what's needed
• Overview map control added
• Mouse-wheel zoom controls and keyboard controls added
• We've added a vector-based POI star. It's scalable and color-customizable too.

Download and check out samples from our Beta page.

JavaScript SDKs 6.0 - UPDATED!

In this update, we've added:

• Route Options for tailoring your route
• Toggle Route Dragging on and off
• Basic mouse wheel support for zooming

Check out the updated documentation and samples here.

Long URL Web Service - NEW!

Today also marks the introduction of a new service which will allow you to manage large GET requests in Internet Explorer, which can't handle them. While we've put a lot of effort into making our URLs smaller and sane to the human eye, there are still scenarios where a complex request can get pretty beefy. Our new Long URL Web Service will automatically chunk-up the request and still be able to use a JSONP callback in the response.

Directions Web Service - UPDATED!

In our fourth feature release, we've now added draggable routes to the service. You now have the option of adding draggable routes through the Directions Web Service or our JavaScript SDK 6.0.

We've also added a Route Shape feature. This will allow you to return a route shape from a previous request without have to re-run the route.

Even more features and updates are in the works. Stay Tuned.