The Google Maps Platform consists of an extensive collection of APIs and SDKs that provide a wide range of geolocation features and functionality. In this article we discuss four useful resources that are available to solution architects and software developers to assist in the design and development of applications and workflows that include the Google Maps Platform APIs.
The first is the new Google Maps Platform Architecture Center, which is scheduled to provide a wide range of reference architectures, diagrams, design patterns, guidance, and best practices for the design, development and implementation of Google Maps Platform workloads.
The Google Maps Platform Architecture Center will contribute a wide variety of information and guidance to assist designers and developers discover and integrate the wide variety of Google Maps APIs in their applications, and ensure that they are designed for optimal performance, scalability, and reliability.
Functioning as a central hub for the platform’s core features, the Google Maps Platform Architecture Center contains several resources relating to the field of Street Address Validation, including best practices, solution comparisons, design patterns, and reference architectures.
Below is an example provided in the Maps Architecture Center of an end-to-end flow diagram that utilizes the Google Maps Address Validation API for street address capture during an eCommerce checkout process:
A second Google Maps Platform application design resource is the interactive and intuitive Architecture Diagramming Tool. This solution allows you to incorporate Google Maps Platform API and SDK icons in comprehensive Cloud architecture diagrams via a single drag-and-drop interface. The Architecture Diagramming Tool is based on the well-known open source Excalidraw platform.
Below is an example of a section of an architecture schema that includes Google Maps Platform resources that was produced using the intuitive Architecture Diagramming Tool:
The third recommended resource is the Google Maps Platform Quick Builder, which consists of a library of low-code templates that enable the discovery, exploration, and deployment of Google Maps APIs suitable for several geolocation-related use cases.
The Maps Quick Builder is available via the Solution Library menu item in the Google Maps Platform section of the GCP Console, and currently contains 19 flexible templates covering a wide variety of well-known use cases such as Markers on a Map, Address Autocomplete, Distance Calculation, and Places discovery. The Quick Builder is very useful for solution exploration, while the output can be utilized either as production-ready code or as a basis for further solution extension and customization.
Below is an example of the Commute and Transit low-code solution provided via the Maps Quick Builder.
Finally, the brand new Google Maps Dev Library provides a curated collection of Google Maps Platform blogs, open source projects and code, and tutorials – all of which have been contributed by developers around the world, and which can provide inspiration and direction for any Google Maps Platform-related development project.
DoiT is a Google Maps Platform Premier Partner, with wide-ranging expertise and experience in assisting our customers to develop, deploy, and maintain applications that include Google Maps Platform APIs and SDKs. Contact us to hear more about our Google Cloud and Maps value proposition, as well as the other products and services offered by DoiT.
