GoogleMaps JSP Tag Library (GoogleMap JSP Tag Library)

Overview

Library

Tag

Help

FRAMES NO FRAMES

GoogleMaps JSP Tag Library

Standard Syntax:


                    
                
                    <%@ taglib prefix="googlemaps" uri="/WEB-INF/googlemaps.tld" %>

XML Syntax:


                    
                
                    <anyxmlelement xmlns:googlemaps="urn:jsptld:/WEB-INF/googlemaps.tld" />

A custom tag library to provide general GoogleMaps API capabilities.

Google recently released it's wonderful
GoogleMaps API to the
public. GoogleMaps API is a javascript/AJAX application that provides dynamic,
interactive mapping and satellite capabilities for webpages. The possible uses are
endless.

Before using GoogleMaps and the GoogleMaps API JSP Tag Library you should read their
Terms of Use and you will need to Register
each domain that will use the API.

While this tag library does not expose all the possibilities of the GoogleMaps API,
it provides good functionality without the need to learn the API, advanced Javascript or
AJAX, and provides a familiar JSP tag library interface.

What this tag library provides that GoogleMaps API does not provide is some
geolocation capabilities. Geolocation is the practice of converting a physical location
to a longitude/latitude pair. The GoogleMaps API JSP Tag Library allows you to specify a location
by any of the following, not just Longitude and Latitude pairs:

Longitude & Latitude
IP Address
US Zipcode
City and State (Province)
Street Address

It also provides built-in capabilities to draw circles, boxes and polygons that the standard API does not contain.

The GoogleMaps API JSP Tag Library also provides mousewheel handling that the default
GoogleMaps API does not.

The tags fit into 2 categories: 1) Data tags that provide the data needed to create a map and 2) Display tags that generate the actual HTML, Javascript and AJAX output.

The following tags make up the data portion of the tag library:

<googlemaps:map>
This is the top level tag and is parent to all the other data tags, except the <googlemaps:infowindow> tag which is child to the <googlemaps:marker> tag.

<googlemaps:key>
Where you define the GoogleMaps API key for the domain hosting this map. You can register for a key here
<googlemaps:point>
This tag represents a location on the map. It has no output, but is used in all the other tags (except <googlemaps:infowindow>) as plotting points.
<googlemaps:marker>
This tag displays a marker on the map at the specified point.

<googlemaps:infowindow>
This tag defines a cartoon dialog style window that appears over a marker.
<googlemaps:tabbedInfoWindow>
This tag defines a cartoon dialog style window that appears over a marker and contains multiple tabs.

<googlemaps:tab>
This tag defines a single tab within a tabbedInfoWindow.

<googlemaps:blowup>
This tag defines a cartoon dialog style window that contains a map blowup of the marker's position.
<googlemaps:event>
This tag defines an action listener for clicks on this marker.
<googlemaps:icon>
This tag defines a custom icon for this marker.

<googlemaps:maptype>
Defines a custom map type for this map.
<googlemaps:message>
Defines a message window that appears on loading and event triggers.
<googlemaps:circle>
Draws a circle with a given radius around the specified point.
<googlemaps:event>
This tag defines an action listener for clicks, drags, zoom and type changes on this map.
<googlemaps:polygon>
Draws a closed polygon using the specified points (in order) as plotting points.
<googlemaps:polyline>
Draws a polyline using the specified points (in order) as plotting points.
<googlemaps:traffic>
Plots markers that relate to traffic events within the given radius.

<googlemaps:icon>
This tag defines a custom icon for events found in given radius.

<googlemaps:body>
For future use allowing users to define custom controls.
<googlemaps:overviewControl>
Displays a small overview window inside the map.
<googlemaps:panControl>
Turns on or off the paning controls on the map.
<googlemaps:typeControl>
Turns on or off the map type (map, satelitte or hybrid) controls.
<googlemaps:wheelControl>
Turns on or off mousewheel scrolling capabilities. Requires the map version be set to 1.
<googlemaps:zoomControl>
Turns on or off the zoom control. If set to large the zoom slider is also displayed.

The following tags represent the display portion of the tag library. They must be placed after the <googlemaps:map> tag and have specific places they must be put:

<googlemaps:scripttag>
Generate the script tag that imports the GoogleMaps™ API. This tag should be in the <head> section, anywhere after the <googlemaps:map> tag.
<googlemaps:javascript>
Generates the javascript and AJAX portion of the map. This should be in the <head> section, but either way must be after the <googlemaps:scripttag> and outside any <table> and other formatting tags to ensure compatibility with Internet Explorer.
<googlemaps:div>
This is the visual map. This tag can be anywhere in the <body> section, after the <googlemaps:javascript> tag.
<googlemaps:initialize>
Generates the javascript code that initializes the map and connects the mousewheel (if applicable). This tag must be after the <googlemaps:div> tag and should be the very last tag before the closing </body> tag.

Future versions of this tag library will provide driving directions, course plotting and much more.
Stay tuned!

Tag Library Information
Display Name	GoogleMaps JSP Tag Library
Version	1.0
Short Name	googlemaps
URI	/WEB-INF/googlemaps.tld

Tag Summary
map	This tag provides the general setup for a GoogleMap. It provides Geolocation functionality and initialization features, but generates no output. The following tags are children of the <googlemaps:map> tag:
coordinates	This tag adds a small control to the map that displays the cursor's current longitude and latitude location. Developers can assign style and class attributes, as well as an x and y anchor point.
insert	The insert tag allows you to add an image as an overlay directly on the map. When the map is moved, the image moves. When the map is zoomed, the image zooms. It provides a simple way to provide an overlay onto a map without having to create your own tiles.
label	Allows developers to place a label (rather than a marker) on a map. This could be used to label interesting areas, etc. Labels do not accept events, and do not block events. Only works on version 2 maps.
cluster	Clusters multiple markers into single larger markers, based on the attributes set. This provides cleaner maps at smaller zoom levels and improves the performance of the map. As the user zooms in, the clustered markers will expand to reveal all the markers in it's cluster. You can define a single <googelmaps:icon> tag as a child to this tag to define the clustered icon (so users can differentiate them from non-clustered icons).
overviewControl	Displays a smaller overview control map of the specified width and height, at the specified x, y location. Only works with maps of version 2.41 or higher. Maps of earlier versions will be ignored.
wms	No Description
maptype	Allows developers to define custom maps through a custom tile provider. The developer provides a url to a resource that can return map tiles based on x tile number, y tile number and zoom level.
icon	Allows you to specify a custom icon and matching shadow for markers. This tag must be the child of a <googlemaps:marker> tag to work. Note that the images should be .png files, 24 bits. The shadow and the icon images must line up properly from the upper left hand corner.
imageoverlay	Allows the user to define a fixed image overlay. This can take the form of a button, a logo, whatever. The image can also be assigned a hyperlink that will be triggered if clicked on.
traffic	This tag displays a series of markers that relate to traffic events within a defined radius of a given point. The severity of the events can be selected, and when a traffic event marker is clicked, the details of the event are displayed in an info window. A <googlemaps:traffic> tag can be parent to a <googlemaps:icon> tag to specify unique icons for traffic events.
event	Adds an event listener to the parent tag. This tag can only effectively be a child of a <googlemaps:map> or <googlemaps:marker> tag. If a child of any other tag, this tag will register itself with the next highest instance of <googlemaps:map> or <googlemaps:marker>. When a map or marker with a registered event is triggered, the URL is called additional parameters based upon the parent component type and the event that is triggered. The complete list is as follows: <googlemaps:box> click Triggers when the box is clicked on. component The box's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'box'. dblclick Triggers when the box is double-clicked on. component The box's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'box'. <googlemaps:circle> click Triggers when the circle is clicked on. component The circle's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'circle'. dblclick Triggers when the circle is double-clicked on. component The circle's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'circle'. <googlemaps:marker> click Triggers when the marker is clicked on. component The marker's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'marker'. dblclick Triggers when the marker is double-clicked on. component The marker's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'marker'. dragstart Triggers when a draggable marker is initially dragged. component The marker's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'marker'. longitude The longitude where the drag was initiated. latitude The latitude where the drag was initiated. dragend Triggers when a draggable marker is dropped. component The marker's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'marker'. longitude The longitude where the marker was dropped. latitude The latitude where the marker was dropped. <googlemaps:polyline> click Triggers when the polyline is clicked on. component The polyline's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'polyline'. dblclick Triggers when the polyline is double-clicked on. component The polyline's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'polyline'. <googlemaps:polygon> click Triggers when the polygon is clicked on. component The polygon's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'polygon'. dblclick Triggers when the polygon is double-clicked on. component The polygon's id. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. type Returns 'polygon'. <googlemaps:map> click Triggers when the map is clicked on. longitude The longitude where the click occurred. latitude The latitude where the click occurred. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. dblclick Triggers when the map is double-clicked on. longitude The longitude where the click occurred. latitude The latitude where the click occurred. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. moveend Triggers when the user has completed moving the map. longitude The longitude of the new centerpoint for the map. latitude The latitude of the new centerpoint for the map. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. zoom Triggers when the user changes the zoom level. zoom The new zoom level of the map. map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. maptypechanged type Returns the new map type (map, satellite or hybrid). map The parent map's id. event The event type that was triggered. The intended use is to have the event trigger a request to either a servlet or JSP page. This page would retrieve the map from the session using the map id (passed as map parameter) making the required changes, additions, etc. and then pass the response back to the requesting page or another page that displays that map, which would then render the map with the changes. For this methodology to work properly, the parent map must have a scope of type site, so the receiving entity can locate the map from the session.
key	The <googlemaps:key> tag allows you to specify multiple keys for your GoogleMaps API. To use this tag library you will need to register each domain that will use the API. If your website is registered with multiple domain names, you will need to obtain and specify a key for each one
body	Allows you to specify body content for the GoogleMap generated <div> tag. This is reserved for future use (potentially in generating custom controls).
message	Allows you to specify a message window to appear when maps are loading or requests are being processed.
marker	Adds a marker to the google map. A <googlemaps:map> tag can have any number of marker tags. The marker may contain child <googlemaps:infowindow> tags.
infowindow	Describes an <googlemaps:infowindow> for a <googlemaps:marker>. There can only be one <googlemaps:infowindow> tag per <googlemaps:marker> tag. If set to display, the <googlemaps:infowindow> will be initially displayed, otherwise it will be displayed when the user clicks on the corresponding marker. If an <googlemaps:infowindow> is going to display HTML content, you must set the html attribute to true, otherwise the content will be rendered as XML and may give undesireable results. The body content of the <googlemaps:infowindow> tag will be the displayed data. You can include complete HTML pages including nifty things like forms, images and more!
tabbedInfoWindow	Displays a tabbed info window over the parent marker. The tabs are defined using <googlemaps:tab> tags as the body of this tag.
tab	Adds a tab to the parent <googlemaps:tabbedInfoWindow>. The body contents of this tab tag become the contents displayed in the tab.
blowup	Sets up a map blowup window for the parent marker.
box	Draws a box on a GoogleMap using polylines. The pointlist must contain two points (additional points will be ignored) that will serve as the opposing corners of the box. Due to a problem in Internet Explorer, it is imperative that you use the following HTML tag in any page that uses the GoogleMaps API and Polylines in Internet Explorer: <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">
polygon	Draws a closed polygon on a GoogleMap using polylines. It will plot a line between each of the points specified in the point list, and then close it back to the first point. Due to a problem in Internet Explorer, it is imperative that you use the following HTML tag in any page that uses the GoogleMaps API and Polylines in Internet Explorer: <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">
circle	Draws a circle on a GoogleMap using Polylines using the location if the specified <googlemaps:point> as it's centerpoint. Due to a problem in Internet Explorer, it is imperative that you use the following HTML tag in any page that uses the GoogleMaps API and Polylines in Internet Explorer: <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">
polyline	Allows the user to draw a polygonal line onto the Google Map. The <googlemaps:polyline> tag defines the generic attributes for the line (color, size, etc.). The <googlemaps:points> ids listed in the pointlist form the endpoints of each line segment. Due to a problem in Internet Explorer, it is imperative that you use the following HTML tag in any page that uses the GoogleMaps API and Polylines in Internet Explorer: <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">
point	A point represents a geographical location. User must specify either a longitude/latitude pair or address information. This tag provides geocoding through the following: IP Address Using ip2geo web service. US Address Using Yahoo web service. International Address Using Maporama.
wheelControl	This tag, when present within a <googlemaps:map> tag set, will provide AJAX mousewheel support for smooth zooming in and out of your google map. This feature currently only works if the map version attribute is set to 1. Version 2 of the GoogleMaps API has significant exposure changes. Future versions should support this feature.
typeControl	This tag must be nested inside a <googlemaps:map> tag. It provides information on whether to allow the user to change map types. If added to a <googlemaps:map> tag and set to display, the user will be presented with three buttons in the upper right-hand corner of the map, allowing them to change the view to MAP, SATELLITE or HYBRID views on the fly.
zoomControl	This tag must be nested inside a <googlemaps:map> tag. It provides information on whether to allow the user to zoom in and out of the map. If added to a <googlemaps:map> tag and set to display it will provide the user with zoom in ('+') and zoom out ('-') buttons. If the size is set to large they will also get a full zoom slider control on the left hand side of the map.
panControl	This tag must be nested inside a <googlemaps:map> tag. It provides information on whether to allow the user to pan around the map. If added to a <googlemaps:map> tag and set to display, the user will be presented with up, down, left and right buttons in the uppor left-hand corner of the map.
scaleControl	This tag, when present within a <googlemaps:map> tag set, will display a map scale appropriate for the current zoom level.
scripttag	Generates the required script tag to import the GoogleMaps API. This tag must be placed after and outside the <googlemaps:map> tag and should be placed in the <head> section of your JSP for maximum portability.
javascript	Generates the required javascript AJAX code needed to create the google map. This must be placed after and outside the <googlemaps:map> tag. For maximum browser compatibility it should also be placed in the <head> section, anywhere after the <googlemaps:scripttag>.
div	Generates the <div> tag that will be the actual visible map. This tag must be placed after and outside the <head> tag. It can be placed anywhere on the page.
initialize	Generates the required javascript code to initialize the google map and register any listeners. For maximum browser compatibility, this tag should be placed just before the closing </body> tag.

Overview

Library

Tag

Help

FRAMES NO FRAMES

Java, JSP, and JavaServer Pages are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the US and other countries. Copyright 2002-3 Sun Microsystems, Inc. 4150 Network Circle Santa Clara, CA 95054, U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.