Google and Yahoo! offer API for Map Services

Google and Yahoo! offer API for Map Services

Google and Yahoo! both are targeting the third party developers to contribute to the development of their Map services. The aim is to get the programmers to develop applications that bring more users to their services and expand the range of the Internet based search and satellite imaging applications for the end user.

They have both released APIs (application programming interfaces) which can be used by the developers to create programs that let people search for specific information that will be displayed using the mapping software. Many websites were already doing similar stuff with their own created hacks and applications. The latest efforts from the two companies would make their job much easier now.

The latest to enter this market is Amazon’s A9 Search Service, which launched its mapping service integrating photos taken of businesses from trucks equipped with global positioning systems. This extra functionality allows users to see storefronts from the street level. The next big company to enter this field is Microsoft, which is aiming for a gala entry with MSN Virtual Earth satellite mapping technology. They would be using data from the global satellite image by Orbimage.