How Does Google Maps Work?

Google Maps is intended to be a basic platform for accessing maps on the Web. The application and the technology behind it are offered by the Google company without charge, for personal use. The technology is the power behind other map services, including those within Google and those developed by others.

For the end user, Google Maps provides detailed street maps that can be expanded to show larger areas, in addition to services that will help you find the best route to a specific location. This detail goes down to the pedestrian level because the mapping is sophisticated enough to take the viewer to street level, block by block in many cases. Places that have sparse population are generally not shown in great detail, while densely populated areas are.

Much of what shows up when using Google Maps is based on what is known as “Mercator projection,” which shows most of the globe (but not the polar areas). According to Wikipedia, related applications provide this feature.

At the heart of the services from Google Maps are “high-resolution satellite images for most urban areas in the United States (including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as parts of Australia and many other countries.” (Wikipedia)

Google notes that viewers are generally able to pan and search for small details, including popular destinations and landmarks. “Although Google uses the word satellite, most of the high-resolution imagery is aerial photography taken from airplanes rather than from satellite.” (Wikipedia)

Google Maps is based on JavaScript, as many Web platforms and applications are. JavaScript is a programming language that has become a standard for Web page activity. Its chief benefit is that it makes pages interactive. JavaScript’s efficiency comes from the fact that it works on the computer of the viewer and is part of the Web browsers that support JavaScript.

How is this good for Google Map users? The viewer can drag the map, pan and zoom. When a viewer searches for a particular location the information is available in panels at the side of the original map or image.

Like many Google applications and platforms, users have been able to add to and enhance Google Maps. To date, this platform has been widely extended and customized by those who find specific uses for its fundamental powers. One user has customized Google Maps for purposes of organizing and showing real estate in one of the largest U.S. cities. Other citizens have used the power of Google to map crime areas in another large city.

Maps and images from base platform can now be used in other Web sites. With Google Maps API individuals can “integrate Google Maps into their websites with their own data points.” (Wikipedia) The open nature of this huge program has been used by hundreds of people and businesses to improve and expand what they offer.

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