Google Map API Performance
June 30, 2009
I am summarizing a session on Google Map API Performance here. This help you to evaluate using Google Map for iphone app.
Google JavaScript Map API
The total sequence of loading the script and resources is about 4.6 sec on avg web. However, it takes 18 sec to load on Android and iphone.
JavaScript library is 220 KB unzipped. It takes more than 4 sec to parse the API on iphone. Since engineers can’t reduce the codebase size after modularizing classes, Google map team decides to create Google Map API v3.
This v3 offers a few features – markers, infowindows, geocoding.
On v2 GMarker class is designed for features not for performance. Each marker is consisting of up to 5 divs. To show 10,000 GMarkers, you are loading 50,000 DOM nodes in the browser.
Google extends GOverlay class to create a custom lightweight marker. This MakerLight, overlay contains only 2 divs per marker.
Google Flash API is faster in rendering but it suffers from a slow DOM.
June 30, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Thanks for the write-up. FYI, I’ve published the transcript:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dggjrx3s_91g3j27z4d
I had to write it up so that I could translate it, and I figured it might be useful to share.
October 1, 2009 at 12:20 pm
weeewew