Tuesday not only brought us new 3-D city maps from Microsoft, but also MapQuest’s announcement that they are providing an application programming interface (API) for Adobe ActionScript. APIs allow custom applications to be built for a platform. For instance, onNYTurf’s Subway Map Hack takes Google Maps and overlays detailed information about the New York City subway system, using Google’s JavaScript API.
The ActionScript API from MapQuest will allow these types of applications to be built using Adobe Flash or Flex. Developers will be able to write applications in ActionScript 3.0, without any of the "abstraction layers" that were previously necessary to interface with MapQuest, which will speed up performance and eliminate hassle for programmers. According to Adobe, Flash Player is also installed on 97 percent of internet-enabled desktops, making applications developed for it widely accessible.
“The API developed by MapQuest for ActionScript opens up new avenues for the Web 2.0 developer ecosystem, especially those who use Flash, Flex and Apollo to build rich Internet applications (RIAs) in the browser or right on the desktop,” said Jeff Whatcott, Vice President of Product Marketing at Adobe’s Enterprise and Developer Business Unit, in a statement. “Now, RIA developers can quickly and easily integrate MapQuest’s mapping services into their Web 2.0 mash-up applications, enabling them to go beyond simple HTML to create more engaging, data-rich and interactive mapping applications.”
MapQuest already offers a JavaScript API known as Advantage 5.1. Along with the announcement of an ActionScript API, Mapquest also announced that Advantage has been improved with more advanced map overlap capabilities and an "icon declutter" function.
