Dynamic Maps : Google Maps, MSN Maps or OPENLayers
If you've been working on maps publishing for websites, you might have considered one of these alternatives:
- buy vector format maps and publish them as images with the azppropriate information. this example on ecolopop.info also implements a hand coded image map : this is a lot of work but produces a unique version of the map that reinforces your web site's graphics.
- use a free online amp provider such as google Map. Very useful for adress positionning : I use it on ecolopop.info for specific business locations. Google Maps in unbeatble at finding stuff from alphanumeric coordinates : if you happen to have a large database of adresses, Google Map will find them for you on its maps
- OpenLayers is a JavaScript library for displaying map data in most modern web browsers, with no server-side dependencies. OpenLayers implements a (still-developing) JavaScript API for building rich web-based geographic applications, similar to the Google Maps and MSN Virtual Earth APIs, with one important difference -- OpenLayers is Free Software, developed for and by the Open Source software community.
OpenLayers is a project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation.
Furthermore, OpenLayers implements industry-standard methods for geographic data access, such as the OpenGIS Consortium's Web Mapping Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) protocols. Under the hood, OpenLayers is written in object-oriented JavaScript, using components from Prototype.js and the Rico library.