> It goes like this: > Backend: > 1. Look up user's preferences for events and find matching events > in the site's database > 2. Fetch event coordinates and driving instructions to the event > from the user's location. > 3. Email user a notification about requested events and direct to > Google map on the site.
No map has been displayed. There is no gaurantee the user ever will use the link ; you are storing the directions 'just in case'. It's you that "goes to jail" (or loses use of the service more likely) so you're the one who has to decide if that sits okay with the terms... Bear in mind there is a speed limit on how fast you can get directions and a daily limit on quantity from a single requester. If you are talking many hundreds of users for several events it may take days to work through the requests. > 2. Site fetches previously fetched Google info for the map and > displays a map on the site. > - Using the previously fetched data means the maps are > displayed quickly with less server load during "primetime" because > there the hundreds of users coming back to the site are not causing > the site to do geocode lookups and driving instruction lookups during > the "primetime" hours. But isn't that tosh ; the hundreds of users all have DIFFERENT driving directions ? Each direction only gets looked up once, whether that is done ahead of time or as-required. Seems to me there will be less load on Google's servers if only the directions actually wanted by users are looked up, rather than the directions for every one of a customer base for every event. Google's servers load share on a global scale, I wouldn't worry about 'primetime'. They'll make a better job of handling staggered requests from many different end-users browsers than a batch job from your server. Why don't you just calculate a straight line distance, add 10%, and label it as an estimate? -- 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.
