Books & Videos

Mapping Hacks

Tips & Tools for Electronic Cartography

By Schuyler Erle, Rich Gibson, Jo Walsh

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Release Date: June 2009

Pages: 568

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Since the dawn of creation, man has designed maps to help identify the space that we occupy. From Lewis and Clark's pencil-sketched maps of mountain trails to Jacques Cousteau's sophisticated charts of the ocean floor, creating maps of the utmost precision has been a constant pursuit. So why should things change now? Well, they shouldn't. The reality is that map creation, or "cartography," has only improved in its ease-of-use over time. In fact, with the recent explosion of inexpensive computing and the growing availability of public mapping data, mapmaking today extends all the way to the ordinary PC user. Mapping Hacks, the latest page-turner from O'Reilly Press, tackles this notion head on. It's a collection of one hundred simple--and mostly free--techniques available to developers and power users who want draw digital maps or otherwise visualize geographic data. Authors Schuyler Erle, Rich Gibson, and Jo Walsh do more than just illuminate the basic concepts of location and cartography, they walk you through the process one step at a time. Mapping Hacks shows you where to find the best sources of geographic data, and then how to integrate that data into your own map. But that's just an appetizer. This comprehensive resource also shows you how to interpret and manipulate unwieldy cartography data, as well as how to incorporate personal photo galleries into your maps. It even provides practical uses for GPS (Global Positioning System) devices--those touch-of-a-button street maps integrated into cars and mobile phones. Just imagine: If Captain Kidd had this technology, we'd all know where to find his buried treasure! With all of these industrial-strength tips and tools, Mapping Hacks effectively takes the sting out of the digital mapmaking and navigational process. Now you can create your own maps for business, pleasure, or entertainment--without ever having to sharpen a single pencil.

Chapter 1 Mapping Your Life
1. Hacks 1-13
2. Put a Map on It: Mapping Arbitrary Locations with Online Services
3. Route Planning Online
4. Map the Places You've Visited
5. Find Your House on an Aerial Photograph
6. The Road Less Traveled by in MapQuest
7. Make Route Maps Easier to Read
8. Will the Kids Barf?
9. Publish Maps of Your Photos on the Web
10. Track the Friendly Skies with Sherlock
11. Georeference Digital Photos
12. How Far? How Fast? Geo-Enabling Your Spreadsheet
13. Create a Distance Grid in Excel
14. Add Maps to Excel Spreadsheets with MapPoint
Chapter 2 Mapping Your Neighborhood
1. Hacks 14-21
2. Make Free Maps of the United States Online
3. Zoom Right In on Your Neighborhood
4. Who Are the Neighbors Voting For?
5. Map Nearby Wi-Fi Hotspots
6. Why You Can't Watch Broadcast TV
7. Analyze Elevation Profiles for Wireless Community Networks
8. Make 3-D Raytraced Terrain Models
9. Map Health Code Violations with RDFMapper
Chapter 3 Mapping Your World
1. Hacks 22-34
2. Digging to China
3. Explore David Rumsey's Historical Maps
4. Explore a 3-D Model of the Entire World
5. Work with Multiple Lat/Long Formats
6. Work with Different Coordinate Systems
7. Calculate the Distance Between Points on the Earth's Surface
8. Experiment with Different Cartographic Projections
9. Plot Arbitrary Points on a World Map
10. Plot a Great Circle on a Flat Map
11. Plot Dymaxion Maps in Perl
12. Hack on Base Maps in Your Favorite Image Editor
13. Georeference an Arbitrary Tourist Map
14. Map Other Planets
Chapter 4 Mapping (on) the Web
1. Hacks 35-46
2. Search Local, Find Global
3. Shorten Online Map URLs
4. Tweak the Look and Feel of Web Maps
5. Add Location to Weblogs and RSS Feeds
6. View Your Photo Thumbnails on a Flash Map
7. Plot Points on a Spinning Globe Applet
8. Plot Points on an Interactive Map Using DHTML
9. Map Your Tracklogs on the Web
10. Map Earthquakes in (Nearly) Real Time
11. Plot Statistics Against Shapes
12. Extract a Spatial Model from Wikipedia
13. Map Global Weather Conditions
Chapter 5 Mapping with Gadgets
1. Hacks 47-63
2. How GPS Works
3. Get Maps on Your Mobile Phone
4. Accessorize Your GPS
5. Get Your Tracklogs in Windows or Linux
6. The Serial Port to USB Conundrum
7. Speak in Geotongues: GPSBabel to the Rescue
8. Show Your Waypoints on Aerial Photos with Terrabrowser
9. Visualize Your Tracks in Three Dimensions
10. Create Your Own Maps for a Garmin GPS
11. Use Your Track Memory as a GPS Base Map
12. Animate Your Tracklogs
13. Connect to Your GPS from Multiple Applications
14. Don't Lose Your Tracklogs!
15. Geocode Your Voice Recordings and Other Media
16. Improve the Accuracy of Your GPS with Differential GPS
17. Build a Map of Local GSM Cells
18. Build a Car Computer
19. Build Your Own Car Navigation System with GpsDrive
Chapter 6 Mapping on Your Desktop
1. Hacks 64-77
2. Mapping Local Areas of Interest with Quantum GIS
3. Extract Data from Maps with Manifold
4. Java-Based Desktop Mapping with Openmap
5. Seamless Data Download from the USGS
6. Convert Geospatial Data Between Different Formats
7. Find Your Way Around GRASS
8. Import Your GPS Waypoints and Tracklogs into GRASS
9. Turn Your Tracklogs into ESRI Shapefiles
10. Add Relief to Your Topographic Maps
11. Make Your Own Contour Maps
12. Plot Wireless Network Viewsheds with GRASS
13. Share Your GRASS Maps with the World
14. Explore the Effects of Global Warming
15. Conclusion
16. Become a GRASS Ninja
Chapter 7 Names and Places
1. Hacks 78-86
2. What to Do if Your Government Is Hoarding Geographic Data
3. Geocode a U.S. Street Address
4. Automatically Geocode U.S. Addresses
5. Clean Up U.S. Addresses
6. Find Nearby Things Using U.S. ZIP Codes
7. Map Numerical Data the Easy Way
8. Build a Free World Gazetteer
9. Geocode U.S. Locations with the GNIS
10. Track a Package Across the U.S.
Chapter 8 Building the Geospatial Web
1. Hacks 87-92
2. Build a Spatially Indexed Data Store
3. Load Your Waypoints into a Spatial Database
4. Publish Your Geodata to the Web with GeoServer
5. Crawl the Geospatial Web with RedSpider
6. Build Interactive Web-Based Map Applications
7. Map Wardriving (and other!) Data with MapServer
Chapter 9 Mapping with Other People
1. Hacks 93-100
2. Node Runner
3. Geo-Warchalking with 2-D Barcodes
4. Model Interactive Spaces
5. Share Geo-Photos on the Web
6. Set Up an OpenGuide for Your Hometown
7. Give Your Great-Great-Grandfather a GPS
8. Map Your Friend-of-a-Friend Network
9. Map Imaginary Places

Colophon

Books & Videos

Mapping Hacks

Tips & Tools for Electronic Cartography

Read on Safari with a 10-day trial

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Mapping Your Life

Hacks 1-13

Put a Map on It: Mapping Arbitrary Locations with Online Services

Route Planning Online

Map the Places You've Visited

Find Your House on an Aerial Photograph

The Road Less Traveled by in MapQuest

Make Route Maps Easier to Read

Will the Kids Barf?

Publish Maps of Your Photos on the Web

Track the Friendly Skies with Sherlock

Georeference Digital Photos

How Far? How Fast? Geo-Enabling Your Spreadsheet

Create a Distance Grid in Excel

Add Maps to Excel Spreadsheets with MapPoint

Chapter 2 Mapping Your Neighborhood

Hacks 14-21

Make Free Maps of the United States Online

Zoom Right In on Your Neighborhood

Who Are the Neighbors Voting For?

Map Nearby Wi-Fi Hotspots

Why You Can't Watch Broadcast TV

Analyze Elevation Profiles for Wireless Community Networks

Make 3-D Raytraced Terrain Models

Map Health Code Violations with RDFMapper

Chapter 3 Mapping Your World

Hacks 22-34

Digging to China

Explore David Rumsey's Historical Maps

Explore a 3-D Model of the Entire World

Work with Multiple Lat/Long Formats

Work with Different Coordinate Systems

Calculate the Distance Between Points on the Earth's Surface

Experiment with Different Cartographic Projections

Plot Arbitrary Points on a World Map

Plot a Great Circle on a Flat Map

Plot Dymaxion Maps in Perl

Hack on Base Maps in Your Favorite Image Editor

Georeference an Arbitrary Tourist Map

Map Other Planets

Chapter 4 Mapping (on) the Web

Hacks 35-46

Search Local, Find Global

Shorten Online Map URLs

Tweak the Look and Feel of Web Maps

Add Location to Weblogs and RSS Feeds

View Your Photo Thumbnails on a Flash Map

Plot Points on a Spinning Globe Applet

Plot Points on an Interactive Map Using DHTML

Map Your Tracklogs on the Web

Map Earthquakes in (Nearly) Real Time

Plot Statistics Against Shapes

Extract a Spatial Model from Wikipedia

Map Global Weather Conditions

Chapter 5 Mapping with Gadgets

Hacks 47-63

How GPS Works

Get Maps on Your Mobile Phone

Accessorize Your GPS

Get Your Tracklogs in Windows or Linux

The Serial Port to USB Conundrum

Speak in Geotongues: GPSBabel to the Rescue

Show Your Waypoints on Aerial Photos with Terrabrowser

Visualize Your Tracks in Three Dimensions

Create Your Own Maps for a Garmin GPS

Use Your Track Memory as a GPS Base Map

Animate Your Tracklogs

Connect to Your GPS from Multiple Applications

Don't Lose Your Tracklogs!

Geocode Your Voice Recordings and Other Media

Improve the Accuracy of Your GPS with Differential GPS

Build a Map of Local GSM Cells

Build a Car Computer

Build Your Own Car Navigation System with GpsDrive

Chapter 6 Mapping on Your Desktop