B4J Question jGoogle Maps 2.01

[Philip Prins]

I think Google changed something again:

No imagery here notice.

I followed all the steps in the previous update , JDK 19.0.02

Can anyone check if it still works on their side?

Regards
Philip

 

[aminoacid]

Same problem here. I happened to be running a program using Google Maps since yesterday. It was displaying the map properly until just now when I restarted the program to see if I encounter the same issue. Sure enough I get the same results as you. What a pain!

 

[Ralph Parkhurst]

No imagery here notice.

You are not alone - I have the same problem here. I wonder if the GoogleMaps Javascript API update 3.60.1 released yesterday has something to do with it. More accurately, I suspect that API 3.56 is no longer supported.

 

[Johan Hormaza]

Here the same with the problem

 

[aminoacid]

You are not alone - I have the same problem here. I wonder if the GoogleMaps Javascript API update 3.60.1 released yesterday has something to do with it. More accurately, I suspect that API 3.56 is no longer supported.

I think you're right. I would assume that the jGoogleMaps Library would need to be updated.

 

[javiers]

Exactly the same...

 

[aminoacid]

I found an old example that actually works! What's surprising is that it complies and runs under Java8 and an API key is not necessary. It is using the latest jGoogleMaps v2.01 library and compiled with B4J v10.0

I have not had a chance to figure out why it works while the other programs based on the latest demo code do not, but I am attaching it here in case anyone is interested and would like to take a look at it. Perhaps it may give us a clue as to what's really going on.

 

[Ralph Parkhurst]

runs under Java8

I tried here, but because I don't have Java8, it failed. Where can I get Java8 from?

 

[aminoacid]

I tried here, but because I don't have Java8, it failed. Where can I get Java8 from?

https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/#java8-windows

 

[Ralph Parkhurst]

Thanks and well identified @aminoacid. I suspect you are on to something here, because it indeed does work, although map tiles are displayed very slowly.

I confirm I am using B4J v10.0, jGoogleMaps Lib 2.01 and JDK 8u441. I do recall this 2018 demo/example (see here: Share My Creation by Klaus) because I used some of his ideas in my application.

 

[Ralph Parkhurst]

Here is how I managed to temporarily get around the Google Maps 2.01 issue in my own B4J application:

1. Switch to Java8 by downloading JDK 8u441 from the link provided above by @aminoacid and selecting the javac.exe in Configure Paths.
2. Add one line in gmap_ready event: gmap.MapType=gmap.MAP_TYPE_SATELLITE to select Satellite map when the map loads.
3. Add one line in AppStart event: options.MapTypeControl = False to stop users from selecting anything other than satellite maps
4. Compile in Release Mode.

Run the executable JAR file result.jar and it works!

Limitations:
a) Only Satellite maps are supported
b) Map drawing seems slower than before
c) I don't yet know how to build result.jar into a standalone package - the Build Standalone Package button gives an error "Java 11+ is required".

Whilst this cannot be regarded an effective solution, it has given me some breathing space and gives my customers a workaround for the moment.

Thanks @aminoacid for finding this workaround.

EDIT: Having now installed this on seven Windows PCs (all using Win11 Pro), I regret to report that this technique only worked sometimes (4 out of the 7).

 

[Erel]

The problem is in JavaFX WebView.
The previous workaround was to explicitly set the maps SDK version to 3.56, as it fails with 3.57. 3.56 is no longer available.

JavaFX WebView no longer works with Google Maps JS sdk · Issue #207 · dlsc-software-consulting-gmbh/GMapsFX

It looks like something has changed recently with the Maps JS SDK and it doesn't work properly with JavaFX WebView. The map is empty and every tile shows the message "Sorry, we have no imagery here...

github.com

And hopefully they will fix it soon: https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK...plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel

 

[Ralph Parkhurst]

And hopefully they will fix it soon

I agree and also remain in hope. However the evidence suggests JavaFX Webview is no longer being maintained.

Are there other ways to display a map within B4J?

 

[Star-Dust]

As has been explained, the new versions of the API use webgGL that are not supported by webView.
You can use the alternative to webView, but very complicated, you can interface the browser (this already tried and functional) or as a third possibility to use a trick ...

Browser

trick

 

[Ralph Parkhurst]

The 'trick' sounds enticing @Star-Dust. I have sent you a message...

 

[Philip Prins]

The 'trick' sounds enticing @Star-Dust. I have sent you a message...

I would like to receive the trick as well.
@Star-Dust

 

[aminoacid]

I agree and also remain in hope. However the evidence suggests JavaFX Webview is no longer being maintained.

Are there other ways to display a map within B4J?

I am seriously considering investigating the use of Leaflet instead of GoogleMaps. It does not have all these limitations of GoogleMaps and also supports other maps such as OSM, ESRI, Nat Geographic, USGS, and even GoogleMaps. There is an old library posted here but it is dated and does not support all the features of Leaflet:

[BANano] Leaflet-Wrapper

Hello, I am pleased to announce my first library for BANano. :) This is a wrapper that allows you to use the functionality of the JavaScript library Leaflet with B4J in conjunction with BANano. What is Leaflet? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaflet_(software) Leaflet homepage...

www.b4x.com

But it's a good start. And I've played around with B4XMAP and even though it seems a bit limited for my needs it's pretty good:

B4XMap (Open Street Map viewer)

Just came across this and thinking about moving to this from OSMDroid. Trying to figure out how to download a map area based on min and max latitude and longitude and can't figure out how to get from latitude and longitude to the Open Street Map x and y tile numbers, so I can do something like...

www.b4x.com

 

[Erel]

However the evidence suggests JavaFX Webview is no longer being maintained

It is maintained. We see improvements in each release of Java.

 

[Ralph Parkhurst]

It is maintained. We see improvements in each release of Java.

Thank you Erel - that is indeed encouraging and you have lifted my spirits immensely! When I saw the words "I wrote Kevin Rushford (no answer)" and "the webview is not getting any attention for improvements" (both posted by someone else) I just assumed the worst.

 

[Star-Dust]

We have been expecting a webView update for more than six months, but unfortunately it is still not available.

My library that uses an external browser is almost complete, I stopped only because the problem had been temporarily solved by setting the bees to version 3.56. Unfortunately an external browser is complicated to manage so it is not an optimal solution.

It is possible to get the maps in image format from the Googlemaps but a lot of work should be done to have all the rest of the characteristics (rectangles, lines, circles, markers, coding and decoding GPS addresses and coordinates, etc.)

I have been transformed my apps into Webapp and I have no problem.

For the desktop version I am trying alternatives to WebView. The simplest would be JXBrowser but it is expensive, so I'm testing Jcef, it seems to work but here too it takes a lot of work to take it to B4J .. for the moment the experiments seem to work.