14 DAY TRIAL // In September last year, Microsoft kicked off the Bing Maps v7 Module CodePlex Project, aimed specifically at creating one place where all developers could find and even share useful modules to enhance the capabilities of Bing Maps V7 API.
Ten modules have been submitted to the project to date, but there are some other new modules in development.
In a recent post on the Bing Maps Blog, Ricky Brundritt, EMEA Bing Maps Technology Solution Professional, brings to the spotlight some of the latest modules added to the project.
Point Based Clustering Module is one of the latest additions to the project, created based on the feedback received on the Client Side Clustering Module, Brundritt explains.
The point based algorithm used for the module allows for a large number of pushpins to be clustered fast, while also preventing them from overlapping and jumping around through clustering data based on the zoom level.
“Additionally this module keeps track of clustered information for each zoom level, making the algorithm faster the more you use it. This improved UI experience does affect performance and as such this algorithm is recommended for 2000 or less pushpins,” Brundritt notes.
There is also a GPX Parser available as part of the project now. It enables the easy passing of a URL to a GPX file and then the parsing into an EntityCollection (which can be rendered on Bing Maps). GPX is a XML file usually used by GPS devices for describing waypoints, tracks, and routes.
Another new Bing Maps v7 Module is Route Optimization - RouteSavvy Module, which comes from OnTerra Systems, a Bing Maps Partner, meant to put together up to hundreds of locations to create routes.
“RouteSavvy is a simple but powerful tool that can take anywhere from 3 or 4 locations to hundreds of locations. It reorders them based on whether you'd like to visit them in a "round-trip" OR as a one-way trip, with the last stop chosen either by you or by the software (whichever is preferred),” Brundritt explains.
“Web developers can now easily integrate the RouteSavvy API into their web application by adding the RouteSavvy Map Module. The map module uses Ajax to call the RouteSavvy web service to optimize a given set of locations.”
The fourth new module is Mini-Map, also coming OnTerra Systems. It was meant to add a small map at the right corner of the parent map, which shows the extents covered by the current map.
“This module adds a mini map at the top right corner of the screen. Mini-map view helps to give a zoomed out overview of your location,” Brundritt concludes.
