Google Bar (aka Local Search Control) for GMaps v3

[jrgeerdes]

This may not be new, but I haven't seen it before. In GMaps v2, there
was an integrated "GoogleBar" or (for the Search API fans) the Local
Search Control. But thus far, to my knowledge, it has not been
completely ported to GMaps v3, at least partially because the
LocalSearch object in the Search API has not been updated to support a
v3 Map object as an argument for its .setCenterPoint method. So I
wrote a new wrapper for the Search API's RESTful endpoint which will
support a v3 Map and wrote a custom control which approximates the
essential functionality of the GMaps v2 GoogleBar. I've created a
Google Code project so that others can contribute and posted the code
that I have thus far. In the source repository, you will find a simple
demo page (index.html), unobfuscated code (jGoogleBarV3.js), and a
minified version of the JS that has been run through the Closure
compiler. I hope it helps someone! I would love feedback and/or
contributors!

http://code.google.com/p/gmaps-api-v3-googlebar

[jrgeerdes]

Thanks to everyone who has offered feedback and such on the GoogleBar
I built for GMaps v3!

For those who have seen this and implemented this control, you will
want to take note of the update I just pushed. It includes a number of
bug fixes; a built-in SearchForm implementation and links to a CSS
file, thus eliminating the need to include the Google Search API; an
updated compiled source; a source map for use with Firebug (i.e.,
helps debugging when using the compiled version); a handful of UI
tweaks; valid links for InfoWindow results titles (as required by the
Search API's TOS - thanks, omr for the heads up!); and a few other
odds and ends.

Thanks again! And as always, feedback and/or project contributors are
welcome!

jg