[OpenLayers-Users] External API Usage

[Christopher Schmidt]

On Wed, May 09, 2007 at 08:06:40AM -0400, Terrence_A_Pietrondi at KeyBank.com wrote:
> 
> 
> I wanted to know if there is any documentation on how to make use of the
> Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, etc, APIs when used as layers. For example if I
> wanted to use a Yahoo feature offered in their API, how could I make use of
> that on the OpenLayers.Map object, if at all.

The design of OpenLayers is such that you wouldn't do that. If you have
a need to do something with the API, it's probably a lack of
functionality in OpenLayers that should be fixed. (This does, of course,
depend on what you're trying to do.)

You can probably read the code and figure out a way to do it, but it's
not something that we maintain between releases -- the mapObect on the
commercial layers is an internal API, not designed to be exposed.  

> I understand that I need an
> API key for most layers, but it seems like a waste to just have the API for
> its tiles as a layer and not to be able to use the functionality.

Using the API as a tile source is how OpenLayers is designed.  

Regards,
-- 
Christopher Schmidt
MetaCarta