Converting to Google Maps version 3

Google Maps API version 3 has just moved from the Google Labs to live so I thought I’d try converting a simple version 2 map to version 3. This is what the version 2 code looks like

  <script src="http://maps.google.com/maps?file=api&amp;v=2&amp;key=ABQIAAAAjtZCgAx5i04BiZDO6HlxhRQUdBDpWCOMRMbgTcqadX0jQ8HOERSxXxhk24TIBUpivovAKLrnpSio9w" type="text/javascript"></script>
  <script type="text/javascript">
    window.onload = function () {
      if (GBrowserIsCompatible()) {
        var map = new GMap2(document.getElementById("map"));
        map.setCenter(new GLatLng(51.49506473014368, -0.130462646484375), 10);
        map.addControl(new GSmallMapControl());
        map.addControl(new GMapTypeControl());
        map.enableDoubleClickZoom();
        map.enableScrollWheelZoom();
        var layer = new GGeoXml("http://www.doogal.co.uk/LondonStationsKML.php");
        map.addOverlay(layer);
      }
    }
  </script>

And this is what the version 3 code looks like

  <script src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false" type="text/javascript"></script>
  <script type="text/javascript">
    window.onload = function () {
      var latlng = new google.maps.LatLng(51.49506473014368, -0.130462646484375);
      var options = {
        zoom: 10,
        center: latlng,
        mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
      };

      var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), options);

      var georssLayer = new google.maps.KmlLayer('http://www.doogal.co.uk/LondonStationsKML.php');
      georssLayer.setMap(map);
    }
  </script>

The first thing I noticed is that the API key is no longer required which is very welcome, since it makes everything simpler (no more hassle when moving scripts between domains or trying to debug somewhere other than the domain or localhost). I guess the namespaces are a good thing and the class names seem more memorable. At this point I’m not sure if the API is any better than the old one, I’ll have to do some more digging before I can make a decision. But it does look like there’ll be quite a bit of work to convert old sites to the new API. Not that we’re forced to upgrade of course, at least for the moment.