32 Part I — Basics
The information content of a pop-up is completely customizable. Because the base of the con-
tent is HTML, you can include styles, images, and other content. When developing a Google
Maps application, what you use this pop-up for is entirely up to you.Links
In the case of the standard Google Maps interface you also obtain two “Directions” links (“To
here” and “From here”) that provide an interface to the Google route-finding service, which
calculates, highlights, and describes a route between two points. Figure 2-17 shows a route
from a railway station to a restaurant.FIGURE2-17: A route in Google Maps.Overlays
The Google Maps API enables you to overlay lines and polygonal objects onto a map. You can
use this information to provide additional detail about the location you are looking at. The
overlay lines are specified in terms of their location within the Google Maps environment, so
the lines will scroll and move when you move the map around. A good example of overlays in
action is the route highlighted by Google when determining how to get from one location to
another.