hello... maps, openstreetmap, mapstraction - OpenGuides-Dev

25 May 2006


      Hello list,
I spoke to Ivor today at the inaugural London Javascript Night about a
new library we've spun off from OpenStreetMap (www.openstreetmap.org)
called Mapstraction (www.mapstraction.com).
Basically, Mapstraction is a minimal layer of javascript which defines
a common interface to Google Maps, Yahoo Maps and MS Virtual Earth.
In the future it will also provide a javascript interface to
OpenStreetMap.  The idea is that you can use the Google Maps API now,
because it's great, but if their terms and conditions change, or they
start serving ads in maps, or Yahoo has better maps, or whatever, then
you can switch provider with one line of code. (We decided not to
clone the Google API exactly, but it's very similar).
Clearly, it's a foot in the door for OpenStreetMap (which should suit
open projects like Open Guides) but if you have a business model
predicated on free maps from Google you might also be interested.
In order to make sure we're writing useful code, we'd like to offer to
look at the Open Guides maps code (and hopefully convert it to
Mapstraction) - can somebody point me at the right bit? Also, if
anyone's interested in helping out, please visit our site and join the
mailing list: www.mapstraction.com
Thanks for your attention,
Tom.