KML Handbook, The and over 360,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle � Amazon�s new wireless reading device. Learn more

Quantity:

Express Checkout with PayPhrase

What's this? | Create PayPhrase

More Buying Choices

46 used & new from $29.62

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Share with Friends

The KML Handbook: Geographic Visualization for the Web

See larger image

Share your own customer images

Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Start reading KML Handbook, The on your Kindle in under a minute. Don�t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

The KML Handbook: Geographic Visualization for the Web (Paperback)

~ (Author)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

List Price:	$44.99
Price:	$36.63 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save:	$8.36 (19%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Thursday, November 12? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

35 new from $29.62 11 used from $34.95

Formats		Amazon Price	New from	Used from
Kindle Edition $17.59 Available for download now. Published December 5, 2008	Kindle Edition	$17.59	--	--
Paperback $36.63 In Stock. Published November 5, 2008	Paperback	$36.63	$29.62	$34.95

Frequently Bought Together

Price For All Three: $91.64

Show availability and shipping details

This item: The KML Handbook: Geographic Visualization for the Web by Josie Wernecke
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
Beginning Google Maps Mashups with Mapplets, KML, and GeoRSS: From Novice to Professional (Beginning from Novice to Professional) by Sterling Udell
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
Beginning Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax: From Novice to Professional by Michael Purvis
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Desktop GIS: Mapping the Planet with Open Source Tools

by Gary Sherman

5.0 out of 5 stars (4)

Beginning Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax: From Novice to Professional

by Michael Purvis

4.5 out of 5 stars (10) $28.62

Google Earth For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

by David A. Crowder

3.8 out of 5 stars (4) $19.43

Hacking Google Maps and Google Earth (ExtremeTech)

by Martin C. Brown

3.0 out of 5 stars (5) $21.89

Google Maps Hacks: Tips & Tools for Geographic Searching and Remixing

by Rich Gibson

4.2 out of 5 stars (12) $19.79

› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

“The way the information is presented appeals to teachers, hobbyists, web designers—anyone looking for a way to enhance their content by using customized maps.”
—Warren Kelly, Pastor

“It could become the de-facto tutorial volume for the subject, as well as the classic reference guide.”
—Thomas Duff, Lead Developer

“This book is written so well and is so easy to follow it’s a joy to go through.”
— Daniel McKinnon, Software Engineer

KML began as the file format for Google Earth, but it has evolved into a full-fledged international standard for describing any geographic content—the “HTML of geography.” It’s already supported by applications ranging from Microsoft Virtual Earth and NASA WorldWind to Photoshop and AutoCAD. You can do amazing things with KML, and this book will show you how, using practical examples drawn from today’s best online mapping applications.

Drawing on her extensive experience with the creators of KML, Wernecke teaches techniques that can be used by everyone from programmers to real estate agents, scientists, students, architects, virtual explorers, and more.

Highlights include

Incorporating rich content in Placemark balloons
Creating overlays that superimpose your images on standard Earth browsers
Generating animations that move through Placemarks, Overlays, and Models
Controlling and updating map content across the Web
Managing large data sets using regions and custom data types
Complete KML language reference: elements, types, syntax, file structure, and conventions

About the Author

Josie Wernecke,senior technical writer at Google, works with the experts who created KML’s first releases. She wrote The Inventor Mentor and The Inventor Toolmaker and coauthored The VRML 2.0 Handbook (with Jed Hartman), all published by Addison-Wesley.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (November 6, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0321525590
ISBN-13: 978-0321525598
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,157 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Josie Wernecke Page

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	78% buy the item featured on this page: The KML Handbook: Geographic Visualization for the Web 4.7 out of 5 stars (13) $36.63
	7% buy Beginning Google Maps Mashups with Mapplets, KML, and GeoRSS: From Novice to Professional (Beginning from Novice to Professional) 5.0 out of 5 stars (2) $26.39
	6% buy Desktop GIS: Mapping the Planet with Open Source Tools 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
	5% buy Google Earth For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) 3.8 out of 5 stars (4) $19.43

Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

google earth(5)

kml(5)

google maps(3)

geography(2)

gis(2)

mashup(2)

xml(1)

See all 11 tags...

Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview of KML, November 14, 2008

By	Eric "Eric" (Inverness, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Just received my copy today and spent the afternoon pouring through it. In summary it is an excellent summary of KML and will appeal to both novice and professionals.

This is a step by step guide to writing and using KML programming language to produce enhanced graphics as overlays onto web based mapping programs such as Google Earth. But since KML is an open standard it can be used with almost any geographic program that supports it (such as Microsoft Virtual Earth, ArcGIS, EarthBrowser, etc.).

It has been a long time since a did any programing and I was worried that this book would be over my head, but it is not. It provides step by step directions with excellent colour screen shots to progressively walk the reader through several real world mashups using Google Earth. KML is based on the XML language but you do NOT need to know anything about programming in order to pick up this book and learn how to write and use KML code. Since KML is platform independent this book will be useful if you use PC, Mac or Linux.

Finally there is a website that has examples and KML scripts for downloading (to save some typing). I especially appreciate Appendix A which is a reference for the syntax of all of the KML commands.

In addition to this book, Google's website has a lot of information, examples and practice scripts on KML and how to use it with both Google Earth and Google Maps. If you are just interested in seeing what KML is and how it is used that would be the first place to go as it is FREE. If you like what you see and want to learn more this is THE reference/guide for KML.

Eric

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start with KML and Google Earth, April 19, 2009

By	calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This book is about KML, the language used for creating custom presentations based on Google Earth maps and many other geographic data display programs. The book was written to be read sequentially, with the basic concepts being presented at first and then more complex topics being presented later in the book. The compact appendix at the back of the book makes a great reference. This is not one of those IT shovelware books that are useful for about six months and then discarded. I can see me keeping this one around for a long time.

You do not need to have any programming skills to use this book. A knowledge of HTML and XML is probably required, and if you have that this book will make perfect sense. If you're new to HTML, you'll probably want to consult some additional resources on that subject. The book does briefly go over XML, but there probably isn't enough detail for you to grasp the concept if it is totally new to you. The following is a brief explanation of the chapters of the book:

Chapter 1, A Quick Tour, discusses the different uses of KML, ranging from simple sets of placemarks to elaborate blogs and websites that use KML to make attractive, informative presentations of geographic data. This chapter describes a simple "Hello, Earth" example that illustrates the basic parts of a KML file.

Chapter 2, Placemarks and Balloons, explains how to modify the KML file to achieve custom effects and paves the way for you to efficiently create entire websites with a custom look and feel. This chapter also explains how to package KML files into KMZ archives so that you can conveniently share them and post them on the web as one entity.

Chapter 3, Geometry, teaches you about a family of elements, derived from the abstract Geometry element. You'll also examine the <coordinate> element in more detail and learn how to specify additional parameters for geometric shapes, including tessellation, extrusion, and altitude mode.

Chapter 4, Styles and Icons, builds on what you've already learned about styling balloons, lines, and polygons. This chapter introduces the concept of shared styles, a powerful mechanism for developing uniform presentation styles that can be easily applied to a large set of features. You'll also learn about styles for icons and labels.

Chapter 5, Overlays, looks under the hood to see how screen overlays, ground overlays, and photo overlays can be created and manipulated in KML. Adding overlays to Google Earth gives you the power to add your own layers of imagery to Google Earth, presenting data in a vivid geographic context.

Chapter 6, Network Links, introduces the network link, which is a powerful way to share and refresh your data over the network. Network links are also a useful way to organize large presentations into smaller files that can be loaded independently, both locally or across the network. Additional features of the <Link> element are discussed too, showing how you can refresh network links based on the user's view or changes in data, and how you can communicate certain information from the Earth browser back to the server.

Chapter 7, Dynamic KML, dives deeper into the power of network link controls as it shows you how to use the <Update> element to create, change, and delete elements in KML files previously fetched through a network link and currently in memory. In addition, it explains how to create dynamic effects in KML through use of the time elements: <TimeSpan> and <TimeStamp>. Adding these elements to a KML file causes Features to be loaded according to their specified time sequence, which can be used to animate models, overlays, and placemark icons in Google Earth.

Chapter 8, Dealing with Large Data Sets, the final chapter in this guide, deals with two advanced subjects that are useful for KML files that contain large data sets. Regions allow you to specify additional conditions under which data is shown (based on where the user is looking and how far away the user is from the objects being viewed). The extended data mechanism is used for custom, typed data and allows you to add new data types to KML and preserve them when the file is saved and reloaded.

Appendix A, KML Reference, is an alphabetical reference that contains a brief description of every element and type in the KML standard, with syntax sections for all complex elements. This appendix describes the basic structure of a KML file and conventions of the language.

Appendix B, Sky Data in KML, describes how to display astronomical data in an Earth browser. You can create KML files that display objects in the sky, such as stars, constellations, planets, the Earth's moon, and galaxies. This appendix explains how to create a KML file to display celestial data in an Earth browser that supports Sky data, such as Google Earth or Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for those who want to get up to speed quickly, August 5, 2009

By	Michael Mauch (Sacramento CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book quickly provided the basics to write KML programs without having to read hundreds of pages. It's easy to read and follow; and doesn't get bogged down in details. Good book for those who have a programming background but limited or no exposure to XML and/or KML.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 13 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, But With Some Defects
I do not share the high rating given to this book by other reviewers. First, the images in the book are terribly fuzzy, sometimes to the point of being unreadable. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Jay Sage

5.0 out of 5 stars It Gets to the Point
I read this book online at Safari. It's the first book I've read thru online. I was able to do this because it is very direct and gets to the point. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Chad Biggerstaff

5.0 out of 5 stars KML explained clearly
Finally, a book that explains clearly how and why to use KML, how it works, and clear explanations on the options. Now I can get to work and play with KML files.

Published 5 months ago by S. Praly

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing KML Resource
As one of the editorial reviewers of 'The KML Handbook: Geographic Visualization for the Web' I can safely say that I know this book from front cover to back and this is absolute... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Daniel McKinnon

5.0 out of 5 stars A 'must' for any computer collection strong in geographic applications
KML began as the file format for Google Earth but has since evolved into an international standard for describing any geographic content. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Midwest Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Best place to start from with KML
This is an excellent resource for people who are new to KML or want to dig deeper. Weather you are already working with GIS and looking at how Google Earth can compliment your... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Nanfa Kumswa

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully done
Since this book is all about Visualization, I appreciated that the book itself is extremely good looking and this makes it easier for the reader to approach a somewhat technical... Read more

Published 9 months ago by BizyBee

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource, but sloppy on examples
I agree this is a good book for learning kml. And I realize this is a relatively new book so I hope it gets the editing it needs. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Xofer

4.0 out of 5 stars easy to learn; stricter than HTML
The handbook describes an easy to learn KML. It lets you annotate maps, to produce a combined image of a map and your contributions overlaid. KML is a subset of XML. Read more

Published 10 months ago by W Boudville

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good for novices too
If you have ever used Google Earth or Google Maps Satellite View and wondered what was going on as you wandered about some neighborhood with details appearing as you zoomed in,... Read more

Published 11 months ago by OldEngineer

› See all 13 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }