Unleash Your Applications and Data with the Power of Location O'Reilly Releases Programming MapPoint
Written by O'Reilly
04 January 2006
Sebastopol, CA--Whether we're trying to find driving directions to the airport or looking for a good restaurant in town, having access to location information has become an essential ingredient in our daily lives.
Today's enterprises know this and consider providing location-based services to their customers an important part of their service offerings. Getting custom data into maps has been difficult until recently, but Microsoft's MapPoint program, MapPoint Web Services, and Virtual Earth offer several different ways to integrate information with commercial map and demographic data. MapPoint makes it easy to answer such questions as: Where am I? How do I get from here to there? and the ever-essential, Where is the nearest coffee shop?
Developers may choose to answer these questions using online applications, web services, mobile phones in real-time, or offline, but regardless of delivery method, they'll find the resources they need in Chandu Thota's new book, "Programming MapPoint in .NET" (O'Reilly, US $49.95). Thota, a key member of Microsoft's MapPoint team, shows how to combine MapPoint's impressive capabilities with the strengths of .NET to make geographic information accessible.
"Location is everything. You need location intelligence to better serve customers in any business domain, so adding location intelligence to core vertical applications is a high priority for many enterprises," explains Thota. "As the demand for location intelligence grows and location-based technologies transition from the hands of GIS professionals to mainstream .NET/web developers, we've seen a higher demand for good resources that abstract geo-spatial specifics and provide the power of location with simple and easy-to-use APIs and tools. Microsoft's MapPoint does exactly that, and my book covers this platform in a comprehensive fashion so developers can jumpstart their location-based application development with their favorite development tools."
According to Thota, Microsoft MapPoint division has been offering a rich platform for developers and enterprises to build location-enabled and location-aware applications for almost a decade now. "As the platform matured over the years, it was clear to me that we needed a good resource (apart from the online product documentation at MSDN) for MapPoint developers that answers technical questions both at a basic level and at advanced levels for more complicated integration scenarios," says Thota. "So, in early 2004, I started a developer-centric blog on MSDN and started addressing these pressing questions from the developer community. That interaction has morphed into what we are looking at today with the 'Programming MapPoint in .NET' book."
With "Programming MapPoint in .NET" developers will learn how to:
-Create interactive maps using the MapPoint ActiveX control -Generate driving directions using both MapPoint Web Services and the desktop application -Connect a GPS device to an application for navigation with MapPoint -Integrate personal/proprietary information with MapPoint's geographic and demographic data -Use other companies' data services in conjunction with MapPoint's Web Services -Explore the planet with Visual Earth and add custom information to enrich the users' experience
As Thota points out, the world of web services changes quickly so keeping a book on the subject up-to-date is nearly impossible. He notes that while his book aims to keep readers current with the technical details of MapPoint's APIs and features, it's almost certain that newer features will be added in the near future. Readers can refer to his blog and the book's support site (http://www.programmingmappoint.net) for complete information on upcoming developments.
In his foreword to the book, Stephen Lawler, general manager of Virtual Earth and MapPoint, calls Thota an accomplished developer on the Microsoft Virtual Earth and MapPoint team, as well as an influence on much of the early thinking in the next wave of the Internet and mapping technologies. "He knows firsthand the best way to develop applications in a quick and effective way using MapPoint technologies," says Lawler. "In this book, he narrates a developer story about a platform that has been his work, play, and passion at Microsoft. Whether you are an enterprise developer or hobbyist programmer, 'Programming MapPoint in .NET' will set you apart from other developers in the field." And in closing, Lawler urges developers to unleash their application and and data with the power of location.
Programming MapPoint in .NET Chandu Thota ISBN: 0-596-00906-2, 354 pages, $49.95 US, $69.95 CA
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
1-800-998-9938 1-707-827-7000 http://www.oreilly.com 1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472
About O'Reilly O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly has been a chronicler and catalyst of leading-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
# # #
O'Reilly is a registered trademark of O'Reilly Media, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
GISuser Feature Articles
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
Geo Social Location Checkin to Twitter from iPhone - With the cool SXSW event taking place Austin, TX, everyone who's anyone in social and social location seems to have rolled out updates this week, making your choice for how to check-in to your social media bookmarks even tougher to decide on!
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs
See more 
