Bing maps driving directions

Bing Maps (formely VirtualEarth Maps) has a splendid driving direction service, covering the whole world — neither Google Maps no another webmaps do that.

As a GIS-web developer you can face a little problem - driving direction has limited API access and you cat get generalized route only (i.e. curve of few points VERouteItineraryItem instead of shape VEShape), because API property VERoute.ShapePoints is available with explicit permission from Microsoft, in other words — they encrypt shape data and if you subscribe the service will give you the key. I have figured out there are limitations for number of requests - 1000 per day for developer and $0.01 per request for enterprise.

Bing directions with OpenLayers

The idea:

1. create Bing layer without tiles VEMapOptions.LoadBaseTiles=false
2. get route with Bing API
3. maximum zoom layer to get detailed shape
4. parse SVG or VML poliline with pixel-to-LonLat function

It seems to be easier than breaking encrypted VERoute.ShapePoints data. In a couple of days i will upload working sample to OpenLayers sandbox.

OpenLayers and Yandex.Maps (Яндекс.Карты)

15 May 2009

FIXED version is available

Hello all! At last i have uploaded the fixed version of Yandex maps for openlayers. Look here: Yandex maps for OpenLayers (in sandbox). This fix removes latitude distortion because of ellipsoid globe model used in YandexMaps in contrast to spheroid in Google and Bing. I can't make these changes in simple version (beneath)— i have no idea about projection (EPSG) used in this webmap. If you have — send me description (see Spatialreference).

There are 2 files Yandex.html and OL_Yandex.js

OpenLayers is splendid opensource javascript framework for webmapping. "Yandex.Maps" (russian:Яндекс.Карты) - russian webmapping service (like Google Maps or VirtualEarth)

This is example map (up) and here is the code (down):

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.openlayers.org/api/OpenLayers.js"></script>
<div id="map" style="border: 1px solid lightgray; margin: 0pt 0pt 30px; padding: 0pt; width: 350px; height: 256px;"/>
<script type="text/javascript">
function yandex_getTileURL(bounds){
  var res = this.map.getResolution();
  var maxExtent = (this.maxExtent) ? this.maxExtent : yandexBounds;
  var tileW = (this.tileSize)?this.tileSize.w:256;
  var tileH = (this.tileSize)?this.tileSize.h:256;
  var x = Math.round((bounds.left - maxExtent.left)/(res * tileW));
  var y = Math.round((maxExtent.top - bounds.top)/(res * tileH));
  var z = this.map.getZoom();var limit = Math.pow(2, z);
  if (y <0>= limit) {
    return OpenLayers.Util.getImagesLocation() + "404.png";
  }else {
    x = ((x % limit) + limit) % limit;
    url = (this.url)?this.url:"http://vec02.maps.yandex.net/";
    return url+"tiles?l=map&v=2.2.3&x="+x+"&y="+y+"&z="+z;
  }
};

var yandexBounds = new OpenLayers.Bounds(-20037508,-20002151,20037508,20072865);

var map = new OpenLayers.Map('map', {
  projection: new OpenLayers.Projection("EPSG:900913"),
  displayProjection: new OpenLayers.Projection("EPSG:4326"),
  units: "m",
  maxResolution: 156543.0339,
  maxExtent:new OpenLayers.Bounds(-20037508,-20037508,20037508,20037508.34)
});

var yandexMaps =
  new OpenLayers.Layer.TMS("Yandex","http://vec02.maps.yandex.net/",
  {
    maxExtent:yandexBounds,
    type:"png",
    getURL:yandex_getTileURL,
    numZoomLevels:18,
    attribution:'<a href="http://beta-maps.yandex.ru/">Яндекс.Карты</a>',
    transitionEffect:'resize'
  });
map.addLayers([yandexMaps]);
map.addControl(new OpenLayers.Control.LayerSwitcher());
map.zoomTo(4);
</script>