how does google maps render the map etc, is it flash a java applet?

Question

how does google maps render the map etc, is it flash a java appelet?

Answer 1

No, it is all based on JavaScript and AJAX.

To oversimply... A small script tag is embedded in the HTML which points to a big .js file over at Google. This contains a whole lot of JavaScript that builds the "map box", downloads the map images, and does things when you move your mouse around and click on stuff.

Answer 2

http://code.google.com/apis/maps/

Answer 3

Google Maps is done via fancy JavaScript if I'm not mistaken. If you don't already have it, install Firebug in Firefox and "Inspect" the map at Google Maps, and you'll see that it's a bunch of images together, with JavaScript to provide the functionality.

Answer 4

It's all HTML and Javascript, plus a lot of video trucks, satellites (and airplanes?), and google magic.. More information:

• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/204644/how-does-google-maps-work

Answer 5

It is neither flash nor a java applet. It is simply HTML, CSS and images with a great deal of javascript to drive the interactive elements.

Please see the Google Maps API for instructions and examples on how to create and integrate the google maps widget.

Answer 6

A bit more detail, google maps uses a big div element to contain several img elements. each of those img elements is 256 pixels square, and is positioned on a regular grid. from there, the google maps javascript program calculates which grid images should be loaded into each img tag and uses regular dom manipulation to position each img in the right place. Only the tiles of the map that would be visible inside the div are loaded. when you scroll off the side, the javascript library unloads the image, and loads new ones as needed. Other elements, like the zoom controls, markers, and lines, are stacked or drawn on top of that as needed.