Spontaneous All American 27372 Posts user info edit post |
I'm building a number of websites/projects to start a portfolio so that I can hopefully do coding gigs on the side or do some part time work for a company.
One of my projects involves maps. Basically, I'd like to create a year-by-year map of the sports championships won in the United States, broken down by professional, college, conference, division, etc. I would like a scrollable timeline (starting with the late 1800 for MLB) and checkboxes that would overlay the total number of championships (for instance, you could check a box for "NFL" or "Div. 1-A" or both, wherein the data would total both). If a certain area won a lot of titles that year, the area would get darker (gasbuddy.com-esque).
Essentially, what do I need to learn in order to create interactive color-coded maps that connect to a database? All I really want is a direction, since I'm still learning this stuff.
Sorry if the project sounds vague, I'm a tad under the weather.
[Edited on March 24, 2009 at 10:34 AM. Reason : a] 3/24/2009 10:30:01 AM |
DPK All American 2390 Posts user info edit post |
All start out by saying, get familiar with the Prototype JavaScript framework to do your ajax.
http://www.prototypejs.org
Then use something like script.aculo.us for effects:
http://script.aculo.us 3/24/2009 10:36:39 AM |
agentlion All American 13936 Posts user info edit post |
http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Google-Maps-Applications-Ajax/dp/1590597079 3/24/2009 10:37:35 AM |
agentlion All American 13936 Posts user info edit post |
[Edited on March 24, 2009 at 10:37 AM. Reason : .]
3/24/2009 10:37:35 AM |
RSXTypeS Suspended 12280 Posts user info edit post |
you could also use dojo to create interactive 'maps' 3/24/2009 10:38:54 AM |
BigMan157 no u 103354 Posts user info edit post |
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/ and http://code.google.com/p/timemap/ could be helpful
see something like http://www.world-explorer.info/map.php for another type of example
[Edited on March 24, 2009 at 10:46 AM. Reason : i've used a jQuery Google Maps API that's serviciable too] 3/24/2009 10:45:47 AM |
RSXTypeS Suspended 12280 Posts user info edit post |
Also I would recommend looking into using a MVC (Model - View - Controller) framework like http://codeigniter.com/ Really easy to use/learn 3/24/2009 10:49:32 AM |
Spontaneous All American 27372 Posts user info edit post |
I was really expecting people to make fun of me, but you guys didn't, so thanks!
I did some digging and found this http://grass.itc.it/download/index.php, which is probably not what I need (or is similar to using a bulldozer to build a sandcastle).
I will most definitely look into your recommended libraries, frameworks, and book references. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. 3/24/2009 12:02:36 PM |
qntmfred retired 40653 Posts user info edit post |
no prob 3/24/2009 12:11:07 PM |
philihp All American 8349 Posts user info edit post |
I would recommend learning Javascript, too. 3/24/2009 4:45:09 PM |
Fry The Stubby 7783 Posts user info edit post |
prototype and scriptaculous are on their way out... jQuery is where it's at built-in ajax and effects functions. you don't even have to download the source, just link it from google's api for jquery 3/24/2009 11:32:34 PM |
Ernie All American 45943 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "I would recommend learning Javascript, too." |
It's good to have a solid grasp on the basics, but jQuery (or any other library) will do all the heavy lifting for you.3/24/2009 11:35:03 PM |
RSXTypeS Suspended 12280 Posts user info edit post |
^^unless you're working on an internal web app and external links are blocked.
a lot of js libraries you can link to from a cdn like google, aol, etc. Dojo included.
[Edited on March 25, 2009 at 11:03 AM. Reason : .] 3/25/2009 11:03:13 AM |
Ernie All American 45943 Posts user info edit post |
You sure do like Dojo, huh? 3/25/2009 2:03:37 PM |
DPK All American 2390 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "prototype and scriptaculous are on their way out... jQuery is where it's at built-in ajax and effects functions. you don't even have to download the source, just link it from google's api for jquery" |
Meh, you can do the same thing with prototype and scriptaculous using google, not just jquery.
http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxlibs
I'll still take prototype as it's generally more polished than jquery and it works better with rails development. Prototype isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
[Edited on March 25, 2009 at 10:34 PM. Reason : -]3/25/2009 10:34:15 PM |