10.5. Other Mapping APIs

Though the Google and Yahoo! mappings APIs are the popularly used, there are two other major competitors in the arena of Ajax maps. The first is MapQuest (www.mapquest.com), which has upgraded its mapping service to use Ajax, producing a user experience very similar to that of Google and Yahoo!. To learn more about the MapQuest Open API, visit www.mapquest.com/openapi. The MapQuest Open API has similar limitations to the Google and Yahoo! APIs in terms of commercial use and rate limits.

The other mapping API option is the Virtual Earth API from Microsoft. Virtual Earth is used to power Microsoft's Live Local Search (http://local.live.com). Virtual Earth has some interesting features, such as "bird's eye view" that shows a non-flat view of certain areas, as well as an interesting zoom animation. Where the Virtual Earth API falls short is in its documentation, which consists mostly of developer blog posts and sample applications. To get started with the Virtual Earth API, visit http://dev.live.com/virtualearth/.