This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide for the HTML::GMap distribution, which is a collection of Perl modules for creating Google Maps with HTML and JavaScript. It covers installation, configuration, and usage of the distribution.
HTML::GMap::Tutorial is a distribution tutorial for web developers who use Perl and the Google Maps service. The Google Maps service provides an AJAX-based geographic map with a Javascript API that enables users to overlay images and lines on the map, and drag it with ease. The HTML::GMap module wraps around these APIs and offers a generic infrastructure that significantly simplifies the process of creating interactive web applications that display geographic data from a database. This module handles HTML page rendering, graph/icon generation, Javascript components and interaction with the underlying database.
For instance, if you have a database that holds geographical information about stores belonging to a grocery store chain, you can display the data on a map with ease using HTML::GMap. By customizing the icons, a square icon can be used to represent a store with a pharmacy department, while a triangle icon can be used for those that do not. Similarly, it is possible to display stores that remain open for 24 hours with orange icons and those that close earlier as blue icons. Also, it is possible to use up to two properties in this manner, and filters can be set up quickly using HTML::GMap. For instance, you can permit the user to select the stores that are open for 24 hours from a drop-down list and apply a filter that displays only the matching criteria.
HTML::GMap can also display cumulative data using pie charts effectively. For instance, let's say you have a database of physicians, with each row containing the doctor's name, geographic location, and some additional characteristics like doctor's specialty and whether they accept a particular insurance plan. Using HTML::GMap, developers can display this data easily on a geographic map. Based on equal latitudes and longitudes, the map is divided into a 10x10 grid, and for each tile, an on-the-fly pie chart is generated that displays the distribution of physician specialties. Since the map can be zoomed in and out, developers can adjust the size of the tiles as necessary. HTML::GMap allows the user to easily apply a filter that selects physicians based on their specialty or whether they accept a particular insurance plan.
For instance, if you have a database that holds geographical information about stores belonging to a grocery store chain, you can display the data on a map with ease using HTML::GMap. By customizing the icons, a square icon can be used to represent a store with a pharmacy department, while a triangle icon can be used for those that do not. Similarly, it is possible to display stores that remain open for 24 hours with orange icons and those that close earlier as blue icons. Also, it is possible to use up to two properties in this manner, and filters can be set up quickly using HTML::GMap. For instance, you can permit the user to select the stores that are open for 24 hours from a drop-down list and apply a filter that displays only the matching criteria.
HTML::GMap can also display cumulative data using pie charts effectively. For instance, let's say you have a database of physicians, with each row containing the doctor's name, geographic location, and some additional characteristics like doctor's specialty and whether they accept a particular insurance plan. Using HTML::GMap, developers can display this data easily on a geographic map. Based on equal latitudes and longitudes, the map is divided into a 10x10 grid, and for each tile, an on-the-fly pie chart is generated that displays the distribution of physician specialties. Since the map can be zoomed in and out, developers can adjust the size of the tiles as necessary. HTML::GMap allows the user to easily apply a filter that selects physicians based on their specialty or whether they accept a particular insurance plan.
What's New
Version 0.06: N/A