Instant HTML5 Geolocation How-to

Learn how to create elegant, location-aware web applications using the JavaScript Geolocation API

Key Features

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

Book DescriptionWe don't just surf the Web from our desktops any more 'AEi 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

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

Who this book is forThis 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.