The UI Dev

Posts

Showing posts with the label GIS

Google+ Demo Site is using Google Maps API...

Have you seen the Google+ Demo Website ? It is making use of the Google Maps API as a presentation canvas. Now, that's pretty cool! Check it out!

What do you do with Google Maps API...?

By now we definitely know that Google Maps API stands out amongst other applications in creating interactive world maps. There are a couple of others which may be static, 2D or even 3D, etc, but Google maps have unique and distinctive features that make experienced webmasters prefer them over others. Besides, being a great way to locate and navigate to places, Google maps API also provides many area and length measurement functions. These APIs’ allow for the development of web applications like measure distances and land features online with the Google maps embedded in them. The Google Maps API has been considerably the most popular mapping API in the world. The Google Maps API delivers the standard interactive, easy-to-use features which are beneficial for your business. Google Maps A...

Concluding GIS India news of 2010

Vietnam, India ink deal to develop GIS technologies: A delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology has signed deal with India for the deployment of GIS technologies. The GIS deal aims to spot areas vulnerable to droughts in service of agriculture and forestry and extracting substances from starfish in service of the pharmaceutical industry. To know more visit the source of the news. Shoreline maps of Gujarat and Puducherry released: Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C) launched the shoreline study maps of Gujarat and Puducherry. These maps are approved by the respective state governments. The coastline of India is undergoing changes due to various anthropogenic and natural interventions. Most of the shoreline chanes are on account of the structures which have been developed/ constructed along the foreshore of the...

Custom markers...

We have now seen numerous examples of markers and info-windows in Google Maps API v3. We will now see a last example where-in we will replace the customary marker icon with an icon of our choice! In the example that follows, I have shown 5 beaches in Goa along the Konkan coastal strip! These are nothing but markers, just with a different icon! Lets have a look at the following code! The output of the above code looks as seen in the result section above. This is a simple code that goes here! If you have any queries or doubts or suggestions regarding this example you can comment on the same or feel free to drop me a mail ! In the meantime...Happy Mapping!

Retriving co-ordinates...

We have seen 2 Google Maps API v3 examples wherein we have retrieved the latitude-longitude co-ordinates of the point of click on the map. In the first example we have displayed the co-ordinates in the information window and in the second , we have displayed the co-ordinates in a form in the information window. Today we will create a code to retrieve the latitude longitude co-ordinates in a text box while simultaneously a marker appears on the map as well. So, here goes the code. <html> <head> <title> Google Maps API v3 - Adding marker on Click and retrieving the co-ordinates in a text box </title> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var map; //When using event as a parameter to a function declare map, strictly as a global variable fun...

Assessment of MGNREGA using GIS

The Minister for Rural Development Shri Pradeep Jain “Aditya” informed the Rajya Sabhaon November 30, 2010 that It is proposed to use Geographical Information System (GIS) under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In this regard, Ministry of Rural Development has set up an Expert Group to prepare a strategy for nationwide rollout and to evolve parameters for standardization with an objective to link GIS with grass root participatory planning and asset management and monitoring. Replying to a written question the minister said use of GIS will strengthen decentralized participatory planning, implementation, capturing and monitoring of assets and evaluation of the works under MGNREGA and also this move will help the Ministry to bring in greater transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Scheme ...

GIS as a vocational elective from June 2011

As 13 schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) across India are set to introduce a course on ‘geospatial practices’, a vocational elective for Std XI and XII from 2011, principals and teachers will be trained by an industry partner on ways to implement the programme, next month in Mumbai. The course will be expanded to other schools later. Among the 13 schools, RN Podar School in Santa Cruz will be the first school in Mumbai that will introduce this course which focuses on various components of geographic information system/geospatial information systems (GIS) and remote sensing. GIS is an emerging field and there is a lot of demand for candidates who are trained in GIS applications and technology today. It has a lot of relevance and so far no sch...

What is GIS?

Once I started writing this blog, I received a number of feedbacks from readers asking me to write something about what exactly GIS is. So here is some information, that will give you an idea about " What is GIS? " A geographic information system (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information. GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. A GIS helps you answer questions and solve problems by looking at your data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared. GIS technology can be integrated into any enterprise information system framework. ...

Tripura to use satellites to track terrorrists

Tripura will soon use satellites to track terrorists in the state, director general of police K. Saleem Ali said on Sunday the 14th of November, 2010 adding that the state's three-decade old militancy will be "flushed out within the next few months". Tripura would be the third state in India, after Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, to introduce the Geo Satellite Imagery Systems (GSIS) for curbing militancy. The satellite image would be as clear as if taken from 10 feet above the ground. All district police chiefs would operate this new system to locate the activities of the separatist outfits. All the police stations of the state are being connected electronically for better coordination. In the first phase 22 out of the 66 police stations would be linked! A new method to register a FIR through SMS will also be introduced and would comm...

Form info window

Today we will look at a Google Maps API v3 example to add a form in the information bubble! This is usually required when we wish to accept some data/information from the user! This data can be saved to a server in the form of an XML file or a database! The information can then be retrieved back at a later stage, when necessary! In this example we will only look at form in the information bubble! The connectivity part with the server will be discussed in another post! So, today's code snippet is as seen below! <html> <head> <title> Google Maps API v3 - Adding marker and info window on Click and creating a form in the infowindow with the lat-lng information in it. </title> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var map; //When using ev...

Static Info window only...

In our last Google Maps API v3 example we saw how info windows appeared on user click. We saw why such a thing is necessary and the benefits of that! Today we will look at a very simple example, where in we will place a single marker on the map! Something like a simple marker example in this post! Our today's code is below! <html> <head> <title> Google Maps API v3 - Simple info window only example </title> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var map; function click_window() { map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), { ...

Jugnu: India's first Nano Satellite

IIT-Kanpur with its nano satellite 'Jugnu' has set new highs in the field of space research. A team of students, working under Dr NS Vyas (the visionary man behind the making of the nano-satellite) and other faculty members of the institute, have successfully made the country's first nano-satellite to be developed for the first time by any educational institute. The development of the Jugnu started in the year 2008 with a team of 3 students. With time, the team has grown to the size of more than 50 students ranging from 1st year undergraduates to final year postgraduates and 14 professors from different disciplines to complete this challenging mission. The satellite has been handed over to two ISRO scientists, DVA Raghav Murthy (Project Director, Small Satellite Projects) and Dr SK Shiv Kumar (Director, ISRO sat...

Playing with the markers and info window bubbles...

In the last few posts, we have seen some marker examples and some information window examples. Now, lets do something interesting combining these two things. Just writing that "This is an info window" in the information bubble is not very interesting! And I know this...Have gone through the same phase! So, today we will do something interesting! We will display the latitude- longitude co-ordinates of the point that the user clicks on the map! Doing this is not at all complex! Copy paste the following code and you will see for yourself a map coming to life! The output of the above code looks as seen in the result section above! If you have any queries regarding the above code please comment on the blog post or feel free to contact me at my mail ID .

Only information bubbles...

After displaying markers and markers with info windows, we will now display only info windows on the map. So our aim becomes, placing an info window on a google map when a user clicks on the map. Now, the first question that will pop up in your mind is why do we need such a thing? To answer this question let us consider a simple example. Consider that, when an user clicks on a map, a marker appears with an info window and you want the user to enter some data in a form in the info window and save that data. Now, if the user enters inconsistent data, there would be marker on the map, having no valid information! The marker would then be rendered useless, with no information! Something like a dangling pointer! Now, if you haven't understood a word of this; don't worry. You will soon understand the importance of this example! So, withou...

Code for fun..!

Just wrote a small 3 lines shell script which is capable of searching any random place on Google Map. Try it on your linux boxes! For those who prefer windows, I am sorry to say that this code will not run on your machines. I work on linux system and so I am using some linux specific commands in the script! So here goes the shell script! while [ $? == 0 ] do zenity --info --text="Do not use spaces between multiple words. Instead use the + sign. For example 'new+delhi and not new delhi'" search=`zenity --title "Google Maps Location Search" --entry --text "Search: "` if [ $search == ] then zenity --question --text="Do you wish to search another location?" else firefox http://maps.google.com/maps?q=$sea...

A marker with an information window

Following the sequence, I should be discussing a marker based example! Markers loading from an XML file. But, we will disrupt the sequence for the sole reason that I don't want to discuss comparatively tough examples as of now! So, we will jump on to a simple example to display an information window or the info window bubble as it is popularly known; along with a marker! Let's have a look at the following code. This is a simple code which will place a marker at "India" with an information window attached to it which appears only when the marker is clicked! The code goes as below: <html> <head> <title> Google Maps JavaScript API v3 Example: Simple Infowindow </title> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> function initialize() { ...

GIS India News Titbits

Treading on the foot steps of Gujarat for improvement in governance, the Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday, 10th November 2010, announced to set up geo-informatics centre for planning with help of the latest digital techniques under supervision of department of science, technology and environment. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the centre would be set up on the lines of Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BIGSAC), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and would be named as Aryabhatta Geo-Informatics and Space Applications Centre (AGiSAC). Departments that are directly linked with common man including Revenue, Forest, Education, Health, Agriculture, Horticulture, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development would be the first ones to be taken up for planning under the project by digitisation of their record. ...

Multiple markers...

It rarely happens that there is just one point of interest or just one location that you would like to mark! Generally there is a bunch of markers that appear on the map! Specifically, you want a list of latitude and longitude pairs representing the points of the markers you'll plot. To store the list of points, you can combine the power of Javascript's array and object constructs. An array stores a list of numbered entities. To access the elements of the array, you must use their numeric indices. So array[0] will point to the first element in the array while array[n] will point to the nth element in the array. I will use the following piece of Javascript code to demonstrate how multiple markers can be made to appear on a map using the array structure and the for loop for iteration....

Celabrate GIS Day!

The countdown has begun...Only 4 days to go! On the 17th of November, 2010, the world will celebrate "GIS Day". GIS day is held each year in the third week of November, on the Wednesday during the Geography Awareness Week, a geographic literacy initiative sponsored by the National Geographic Society. GIS Day is playing a powerful role in creating geographic awareness throughout our world. GIS Day provides an international forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society. More than 80 countries will participate in holding local events such as corporate open houses, hands-on workshops, community expos, school assemblies, and more. Any organisation t...

A simple marker example

Once you have set up your map as seen in the earlier post you can now place a marker at your point of interest on the map. A marker is a symbol that is used to point something interesting or important on the map! A marker can be overlayed on a map statically, dynamically i.e. when a user clicks on a map, a marker appears on the map. Markers can also be loaded from an XML file, a plain text file and also a CSV file. We will be seeing an example of each in the subsequent posts. Later on we will also see how to add an information window to the markers on the map! But that will be at a later stage. Let us have a look at the following code first which will add a marker at the Rajya Sabha, New Delhi. And here you are...You have placed a marker at your point of interest. The output will look as seen in the result sect...