Link: /api/google-maps
Provider: Google
API Documentation URL: https://developers.google.com/maps
Live Demos: http://www.morethanamap.com/
After 10 years, Google is still the undisputed king when it comes to digital maps. According to Nielsen, the Google Maps smartphone app sees an average of more than 79 million unique users per month, and that’s just the smartphone app. There is also an official Google Maps desktop app, not to mention the millions of third-party applications that use the Google Maps APIs. Google is continuously adding new features and improvements to Google Maps, which helps ensure that the company remains the king of digital maps well into the future.
Link: /api/microsoft-bing-maps
Provider: MicrosoftAPI
Documentation URL: http://www.microsoft.com/maps/choose-your-bing-mapS-API.aspx
Live Demos: https://www.bingmapsportal.com/isdk/ajaxv7#CreateMap1
Microsoft Bing Maps is a very popular mapping platform, although it has a long way to go before reaching the immense popularity of Google Maps. Microsoft is steadily working on adding new features and improvements to the Bing Maps Platform.
The company recently announced the addition of new Streetside cities and high-resolution aerial imagery on Bing maps as well as new 3-D cities on the Bing Maps Preview app.
Microsoft adds more features and functionality to the Bing Maps platform and grow steadily.
Link: /api/openlayers
Provider: OpenLayers
API Documentation URL: http://openlayers.org/
Live Demos: http://openlayers.org/en/v3.2.0/examples/
OpenLayers is an open source JavaScript library that utilizes WebGL, Canvas 2D and other HTML5 features for rendering maps in modern Web browsers. OpenLayers is capable of pulling tiles from OpenStreetMap, Bing, MapQuest, Stamen and many other mapping sources. OpenLayers is also capable of rendering vector data from GeoJSON, TopoJSON, KML, GML and other geographic data formats.
OpenLayers Track this API is a popular mapping library largely due to its open source license and ability to pull tiles from other mapping platforms.
Link: /api/foursquare
Provider: Foursquare
API Documentation URL: https://developer.foursquare.com/
The Foursquare API provides programmatic access to the Foursquare places database, merchant platform and venues service. Many developers use the Foursquare API to incorporate the venues platform into their application, which is then used as the app’s location database.
the company split Foursquare into two separate apps: Foursquare became a mobile phone Yelp app, and the check-in app was rebranded and launched as Swarm. While both apps seem to be doing fairly well at this time, the future of the Foursquare app and Foursquare API is unclear.
Link: /api/openstreetmap
Provider: OpenStreetMap
API Documentation URL: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API
Live Demos: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/List_of_OSM_based_Services
OpenStreetMap is a project managed by a large group of volunteers who create and distribute geographic data for the world for free. Many applications, such as Watercolor by Stamen, HitchWiki and OpenWeatherMap, use OpenStreetMap data.
OpenStreetMap API Track This API does not embed maps into web pages; allows raw geodata to be retrieved and / or saved to the OpenStreetMap database and represents physical features such as commercial buildings and railroads using tags, and each tag describes geographic attributes and has many map features, including facilities, buildings, roads, places, shops, and waterway.
Link: /category/all/apis?keyword=mapquest
Provider: MapQuestAPI
Documentation URL: http://developer.mapquest.com/
Live Demos: http://demos.mapquest.com/
The MapQuest Track this APIdeveloper site includes well-designed documentation, a map builder, a static map wizard, a route planner and other developer tools. In addition, MapQuest provides a JavaScript Maps API, a suite of Open Web Services, open Leaflet plug-ins and more.
MapQuest was founded back in 1967, long before Google even existed. MapQuest began offering digital mapping products for some time before Google launched Google Maps in 2005. The MapQuest platform is well-established and reliable, and it powers millions of MapQuest.com visitors and MapQuest app users.
Link: /api/cartodb
Provider: CartoDBAPI
Documentation URL: http://cartodb.com/develop
Live Demos: http://cartodb.com/gallery/
CartoDB is an open source mapping, analysis and visualization engine that allows developers to create Web and mobile geospatial applications. CartoDB was launched in April 2012 and since then has gained a number of high-profile users, including National Geographic, NASA, The Guardian UK and Twitter.
CartoDB provides a JavaScript library (CartoDB.js) and several APIs that developers can use to add engaging maps and geospatial visualizations to their applications. CartoDB also provides an editor with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that allows users to quickly create maps and visualize data.
Link: /category/all/apis?keyword=arcgis
Provider: EsriAPI
Documentation URL: https://developers.arcgis.com/javascript/
Live Demos: https://developers.arcgis.com/en/#visualization-demo
Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute) was founded back in 1969 and was originally a research group that analyzed geographic information for land-use planning. In 1996, Esri released MapObjects, its first platform for publishing maps on the Internet.
According to a recent Fortune.com article, Esri technology is used by more than 350,000 organizations worldwide, and over two-thirds of them are Fortune 500 companies. The company is seeing a lot of growth in the commercial sector where Esri GIS applications are experiencing 30% growth per year.
Launched in July 2010, the Yahoo BOSS PlaceFinder API allows applications to programmatically access the platform’s premium geocoding Web service. The service allows developers to build applications that are “location-aware” by taking street addresses or place names and converting them into geographic coordinates.
The API documentation is adequate; a quick-start page helps make the Yahoo BOSS PlaceFinder API easy to set up and use. The price for using the API is based on the number of queries per day, and Yahoo allows developers to monetize their apps with Yahoo search advertising in the same service.