|
Google:maps
Formatting Guide
Although the Google:map JSP Tag Library uses standard JSP tags to provide complete
GoogleMaps™ technology, the output that results from them contains potentially
large amounts of javascript/ajax and formatting.
As a result of this code it is imperative that the tags be placed in specific order
on your JSP page to ensure cross-browser compatibility. While the potential places tags
can go vary, it is best to stay within the guideline as they have been tested on
multiple different browsers and versions.
Tag Order
The library consists of only 4 major tags which should appear in this order on your JSP page.
These tags define the data needed to create a GoogleMap:
- <googlemaps:map>
- This tag defines all the information needed to create a GoogleMap™. The children
of this tag can be specified in any order as the data extraction is not performed until the end tag is reached.
This is the parent tag of:
- <googlemaps:box>
This tag is the parent tag of:
- <googlemaps:circle>
This tag is the parent tag of:
- <googlemaps:event>
- <googlemaps:key>
- <googlemaps:marker>
This tag is the parent tag of:
- <googlemaps:infowindow>
- <googlemaps:tabbedInfoWindow>
This tag is parent of:
- <googlemaps:blowup>
- <googlemaps:event>
- <googlemaps:icon>
- <googlemaps:maptype>
- <googlemaps:message>
- <googlemaps:overviewControl>
- <googlemaps:panControl>
- <googlemaps:point>
- <googlemaps:polygon>
This tag is the parent tag of:
- <googlemaps:polyline>
This tag is the parent tag of:
- <googlemaps:traffic>
This tag is the parent tag of:
- <googlemaps:typeControl>
- <googlemaps:wheelControl>
- <googlemaps:zoomControl>
These tags generate the output to the screen using the data provided in the <googlemaps:map> tag:
- <googlemaps:scripttag>
- This tag generates the <script> tag that imports the correct GoogleMap™ API.
- <googlemaps:javascript>
- This tag generates the javascript that maps the GoogleMap™ <div> component
to the various controls.
- <googlemaps:div>
- This tag will be the actual physical display of the GoogleMap™.
- <googlemaps:initialize>
- This tag generates the javascript to initialize the GoogleMap™ render it and hook it to the
wheel control (ia applicable).
Tag Location
Below is the recommended location for each major tag:
- <googlemaps:map>
- This tag must be the first of the Google:map tags on the page. It should be placed within
the <head></head> section of the JSP.
- <googlemaps:javascript>
- This tag should be placed within the <head></head> section of the JSP, directly
after the <googlemaps:map> tag.
- <googlemaps:div>
- This tag can be placed any where within the <body></body> section of the JSP.
- <googlemaps:initialize>
- This tag should be placed immediately before the closing </body> tag, outside
of any tables or formatting tags.
Miscellania
Internet Explorer Users
Internet Explorer has some unique requirements when it comes to drawing the lines
on a GoogleMap™. This revolves around the use of VML. While it's not important that
you understand the reasoning, it is important that if you're going to be creating
maps using the GoogleMaps™ API (which includes using this tag library) that
make use of polylines (which includes the <box>, <polygon>, <circle> and <polyline> tags), you
will need to use the following <!DOCTYPE> and <html> tags in your JSP page:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">
This will (of course) require that your page adheres to the strict XHTML standard...
Memory Leaks
Google now suggests that users of version 2 maps use the GUnload() inside their body tag to clean
up any resources that might be left behind. For example: <body ... onunload="GUnload()">
Please note that this will only work if you are using version 2 maps.
| 
