Instant HTML5 Geolocation How-to

Learn how to create elegant, location-aware web applications using the JavaScript Geolocation API with this book and ebook

Overview

• Learn something new in an Instant! A short, fast, focused guide delivering immediate results
• Determine the user’s location using a web browser and a few lines of JavaScript
• Write location-aware applications for the mobile web
• Understand how geolocation works on the web, and when to use it

In Detail

We don’t just surf the Web from our desktops any more – we take it with us, everywhere we go. Modern devices contain sophisticated hardware and software to determine the user’s location. Apps such as Foursquare and Google Maps use this to create new kinds of functionality. Now, you can do this too with the HTML5 Geolocation API.

"Instant HTML5 Geolocation How-to" is a simple guide to adding location information to your web applications. The practical, easy-to-follow recipes are designed to help you learn the ins and outs of the API. You’ll learn how to use it, how it works, and how to save and display geographic information on the web.

Beginning with a solid grounding in how the Geolocation API works and when to use it, you will learn how to determine, store, display, and track the user’s location via a series of clear recipes.

You will learn the different ways location is determined on different devices, including desktops and laptops that don’t have GPS units. You’ll also learn how to selectively use these different behaviours, based on the speed, accuracy, and battery life requirements of your application. You’ll also get some hints about using MySQL databases to store sets of location data.

"Instant HTML5 Geolocation How-to" will teach you everything you need to know about retrieving the location information your application needs, across multiple devices and platforms.

What you will learn from this book

• Understand how JavaScript Geolocation API works, and when to use it
• Use the syntax of JavaScript Geolocation API
• Retrieve the user’s location, altitude, speed, and direction
• Store user’s location in MySQL
• Display user’s location on Google Maps
• Track user’s location when he moves around
• Retrieve user’s location only when a GPS unit is switched on
• Display user’s path on Google Maps

Approach

Filled with practical, step-by-step instructions and clear explanations for the most important and useful tasks. The book will take a how-to approach, focusing on recipes that demonstrate geolocation in HTML5.

Who this book is written for

This book is for web developers who want to incorporate geolocation technology into their applications. Previous knowledge about geolocation software or standards is not required. However, this book assumes a general understanding of web technologies, and both Javascript and jQuery in particular.