I've been tinkering with KML and with the Google Maps API (via the Google Web ToolKit) and I'm still not sure what direction to take.
I want to display boundaries of increasing detail. Similar to how country boundaries encompass state boundaries, encompass county boundaries, etc. Zooming in should transition from one level on boundary detail (i.e., country boundaries) to the next (e.g., state boundaries). Since my areas are not as familiar as countries, states, and counties, etc., I'd like to label them with textual names. KML regions of polygons seem like a natural way to proceed but I'm wondering if I’m missing something since the coordinates that compose a common boundary between adjacent polygons (within the same region) are replicated within the LinearRing of each polygon. It's not a big deal but I've been looking for a way to define Polygons by referencing LineStrings that define these shared boundaries. With the Google Maps API and Web Toolkit, I can create Polygons from arrays for EncodedPolylines that define the boundaries. That is, I can define the boundary once as an EncodedPolyline and include in the constructor of the adjacent Polygons. In any case, I end up with a MapWidget managing many polygon Overlays and I've seen performance degrade as the number of polygon overlays increases. I believe I will be able to manage the performance by limiting the amount of detail (i.e., number of polygons) I display at lower zoom levels but that remains to be determined. Also, even though the common boundaries are defined once, they still appear to get drawn twice (once by each of the adjacent Polygons). This is not a big deal but it is not the same experience as the state boundaries of the United States from Google Earth or http://maps.google.com so I'm wondering if I'm missing something. These boundaries will be displayed on MapTypes other than satellite imagery which leads me toward Google Maps API and Web Toolkit. I've read that I can display KML on Google Maps but haven't setup a web- server to download KML. My KML tinkering has been limited to using files with Google Earth. Any advice on where best to invest my time would be greatly appreciated. Regardless of approach (KML or API), I'm still wondering how to label polygon areas similiar to what Google Earth and Google Maps do with names of States within the US. Any examples or references into the documentation would also be appreciated. JR -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google Maps API" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/google-maps-api?hl=en.
