Hacking Google Maps and Google Earth (ExtremeTech)

Chapter 11 — Building a Community Site 213

$sth->finish();

print(“</markers>\n”);

}

Before the details of the Google Maps application are covered, the different icons that are used

to highlight the different entities are described in the following section.

Using Custom Icons to Highlight Different Attractions

Using the same marker for all of the different types of information on the map is obviously less

than optimal. Users will be unable to identify what the different points on the map refer to

without clicking them for more information. To avoid this, different icons can be used to high-

light different entities. The icons used in the application were sourced from the Open Clipart

project and include different icons for pharmacies, banks, restaurants, sports shops, and travel

agents. The icons used are shown in Table 11-1.

Table 11-1 Custom Icons

Icon Name

Pharmacies icon

Banks icon

Restaurant icon

Sports shops icon

Travel agent icon

The background of each icon is transparent to help the icons’ visibility, particularly when they

are placed close together or even on top of one another. Each icon is also the same size —

32x32 pixels. Finally, the shadow normally attached to an icon is not added, to further improve