Mapping APIs – which should a developer use?
Do you know the way to San Jose? I’ve used Mapping APIs to build map based applications using Google Maps API. I have not tried using Apple maps since their first fumbled introduction, but I have built and iOS app that uses MapKit. I had also used Navteq’s maps API for another demo. Navteq was purchased by Nokia which also had their own Nokia Maps. Nokia renamed the Navteq brand to HERE. In 2015 Nokia sold HERE to co-owners Audi, BMW and Daimler. HERE has a developer portal with mobile SDKs (iOS and Android), JavaScript API, REST API, Platform Extensions and Data Lens data visualization toolkit. One of the great things about being a developer, you get to play with a wide range of mapping SDKs, APIs, Frameworks and tools. One of the tough things about being a developer is choosing which mapping API or framework to use. You might decide to integrate two or more of the APIs into your apps: directions from one, images from another, and current location from a third.
Mapping APIs
Here (no pun intended) is a list of developer relations programs that support Mapping APIs. Check out their documentation and code examples at each of the sites.
- Google – https://developers.google.com/maps/ – “Millions of websites and apps use Google Maps APIs to power location experiences for their users. Google Maps APIs are available for Android, iOS, web browsers and via HTTP web services.” Code samples are available on GitHub – https://github.com/googlemaps/. Keep up to date on the Google Maps Blog – https://googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/. Ask questions on Stack Overflow – http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/google-maps. Follow Google Maps on Twitter – https://twitter.com/googlemaps. Videos on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/googlemaps
- HERE – https://developer.here.com/ – “Maps for developers. APIs and solutions to build location-aware web and mobile apps.” Follow the HERE developer news at https://developer.here.com/blog. Code examples and API explorer at https://developer.here.com/api-explorer/maps-js/v3.0. Ask questions on Stack Overflow – http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/here-api. Follow HERE on Twitter – https://twitter.com/here/. Videos on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/heremaps/. “Who wants ice cream!?” — A HERE Maps API for JavaScript Tutorial in 8 parts.
- Digital Globe – https://developer.digitalglobe.com/maps-api/ – “DigitalGlobe Maps API delivers the world’s best satellite imagery, straight to your app. Beautiful, current images and precise map labels, all from a simple, speedy API. Get the best for your location-enabled web or mobile app. Cloud-hosted and easy to build on, now you can access the world’s most accurate collection of high quality, current satellite imagery as well as 15-years of complete geospatial content.” Read the latest developer news on the Digital Globe blog – https://developer.digitalglobe.com/category/developer-blog/. Maps API docs and examples are at http://mapsapidocs.digitalglobe.com/docs. Follow Digital Globe on Twitter – https://twitter.com/DigitalGlobe. YouTube videos available at https://www.youtube.com/user/digitalglobeinc/
- Microsoft Bing Maps – https://www.microsoft.com/maps/choose-your-bing-maps-API.aspx – “The Bing Maps platform provides multiple API options for your application including Web Control, a Windows Store apps control, a WPF control, REST Services, and Spatial Data Services.” Bing Maps Dev Center – https://www.bingmapsportal.com/. Developer Code examples at https://code.msdn.microsoft.com/site/search?f%5B0%5D.Type=SearchText&f%5B0%5D.Value=bing%20maps. Documentation available at https://www.microsoft.com/maps/documentation.aspx
- Open Street Map (OSM) – http://www.openstreetmap.org– “OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license. OpenStreetMap is built by a community of mappers that contribute and maintain data about roads, trails, cafés, railway stations, and much more, all over the world.” Includes open and licenses data. Check out the REST based API at http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API. Additional information is available on the OSM foundation site – http://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Main_Page. Keep up to date on the OSM blog at https://blog.openstreetmap.org/
- MapQuest – https://developer.mapquest.com/ – “All of your geospatial needs. One subscription. All-access to the tools and resources needed to map the world. With MapQuest API and SDK products, you’ll gain access to in-depth documentation and a community of Developers through our forums.” Multiple APIs (maps, directions, geocoding, search, traffic, etc) and SDKs (iOS, Android, available at https://developer.mapquest.com/products/maps. Developer documentation at https://developer.mapquest.com/documentation/. JavaScript API at https://developer.mapquest.com/documentation/javascript-api/. Open APIs at https://developer.mapquest.com/documentation/open/. Follow MapQuest on Twitter – https://twitter.com/MapQuest
- FourSquare – https://developer.foursquare.com/ – “The Foursquare API gives you access to our world-class places database and the ability to interact with Foursquare users and merchants. Start using the only location API you’ll ever need.” Overview of the API – https://developer.foursquare.com/overview/. API endpoints – https://developer.foursquare.com/docs/. The FourSquare engineering blog is at http://engineering.foursquare.com/. Follow FourSquare developer API on Twitter at https://twitter.com/foursquareapi
- MapBox – https://www.mapbox.com/developers/ – “Mapbox is the mapping platform for developers. Build maps and applications on our simple and powerful APIs, and use our open source libraries for interactivity and control. We want to change the way people move around cities and understand our planet.” JavaScript, iOS and Android SDKs are available. Check out the getting started with MapBox page at https://www.mapbox.com/help/#get-started-with-mapbox. iOS SDK – https://www.mapbox.com/ios-sdk/. Android SDK – https://www.mapbox.com/android-sdk/. Keep up to date on the MapBox blog – https://www.mapbox.com/blog/. Follow MapBox on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Mapbox
- Apple Developer Maps – https://developer.apple.com/maps/ – “Give your apps a sense of place with maps and location information. Present maps with custom annotations, highlighted regions, and overlays. Offer your users full control to pan, rotate, zoom, and move the map around in 3D, and show users their current location or guide them to their next destination using direction APIs.” Apple MapKit and Framework info at https://developer.apple.com/reference/mapkit. Apple Core Location Framework documentation at https://developer.apple.com/reference/corelocation. Find loads of Apple developer videos at https://developer.apple.com/videos/
- ArcGIS – https://developers.arcgis.com/– “Bring the power of location to your apps with ArcGIS – a mapping platform accessible to developers. Create and manage geospatial apps regardless of your developer experience. Build web, mobile, and desktops apps that incorporate mapping, visualization, analysis, and more.” ArcGIS for JavaScript – https://developers.arcgis.com/web-api/. Runtime SDKs for Android, iOS, Java, macOS, .NET, and Qt – https://developers.arcgis.com/arcgis-runtime/. You can also script ArcGIS with Python – https://developers.arcgis.com/scripting-and-automation/. Follow the ArcGIS news on their blog – https://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/category/developer/. Sample code on GitHub – http://esri.github.io/. Use the hashtab #ArcGIS to follow on Twitter – https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArcGIS?src=hash
- Amazon Maps – https://developer.amazon.com/maps – “With the Amazon Maps API v2, you can easily add interactive 3D maps to your Fire tablet. The Amazon Maps API v2 helps you offer mapping functionality in your app to create a richer experience for your users. Amazon Maps are fast, fluid, and offer a seamless 3D mapping experience, including rich 3D landmarks.” You can download the Amazon Maps SDKs at https://developer.amazon.com/sdk-download. There are SDKs for Fire OS & Android, iOS, Unity, Xamarin, Adobe AIR, Cordova, and Web. Getting started with Amazon Maps includes setting up your development environment and getting started with code – https://developer.amazon.com/docs/maps/get-started.html. Read the Amazon FAQ for additional developer details – https://developer.amazon.com/docs/maps/faq.html
Am I missing your Developer Relations Program’s Mapping APIs?
Send me an email if I haven’t listed your developer program that includes mapping APIs. Do you developer programs and APIs have additional features that should be highlighted?
David Intersimone “David I”
Vice President of Developer Communities
Evans Data Corporation
davidi@evansdata.com
Blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Skype: davidi99
Twitter: @davidi99
