April was a month with some fun news as we refreshed our Map Display API. We also had some new tutorials in the form of blogs, videos, and webinars on all things ETA and last mile. Take a look at what our developer advocates and location experts were up to this month to help users make the most of location technology in their apps and beyond.

TOMTOM DEVELOPER BLOGS

Our tutorials this month ranged from using the Routing API with JavaScript to adding TomTom maps to a React app, while Search API Product Manager Maarten Clements shared about his career journey and gave an in-depth look at trends and opportunities for developers in search. Read on!

CELEBRATING EARTH DAY WITH THE NEW LOOK & FEEL OF OUR MAP DISPLAY API

This month, the TomTom Map Display API got an update! This new map style includes changes like brand-new colors, natural features, organized POIs, and improved street labels. Learn more about this update & how it changes your map. Read more here.

TOMTOM MAPMAKERS: MEET MAARTEN CLEMENTS, SEARCH API PRODUCT MANAGER

In the third article in our Mapmakers series, we spoke with Maarten Clements, Search API extraordinaire. Learn more about his journey from childhood map-lover to leading the product vision for all things search at TomTom, and what opportunities are out there for developers.

ROUTING AND ETA: ANATOMY OF A TRIP

This article dives into working with the TomTom Routing API (using a little JavaScript) to deliver accurate estimated times of arrival, or ETAs. We’ll look at how different options and the time of day change how ETAs are calculated, using two simple applications: ride-hailing services and package delivery.

ADDING TOMTOM MAPS TO A MODERN REACT APP

It’s easy as pie to add detailed, interactive maps to web apps using the TomTom Maps SDK for JavaScript. As the most-used front-end framework, React is a great choice for mapping-heavy web apps. In this article, learn how to add TomTom web maps to a sample React app using Hooks and function components.

TOMTOM DEVELOPERS YOUTUBE TUTORIALS

MORE TAXI DISPATCHER TOOLS WITH THE TOMTOM MAPS APIS

In this video, developer advocates Jose and Olivia follow the Building a Taxi Dispatcher App tutorial from our Developer Portal. Learn how to “dispatch” taxis to someone’s location by calculating the fastest route to pick them up. You can watch the tutorial here.

ADDING A TOMTOM MAP WITH THE QUASAR FRAMEWORK

Learn how to add a TomTom map with the Quasar framework to build a neighborhood social app.

HOW ETA WORKS WITH THE TOMTOM MAPS APIS

Whether you’re commuting to work or a delivery company delivering food, ETAs mean different things — but they’re always important. In this video, Product Marketing Manager Dosanna Wu explains all about ETAs, and what they mean to you as a developer using our Maps APIs to help companies keep their customers on the right routes.

EVENTS

Product Marketing Manager Anna Borbotko gave a talk on Accelerating Performance in the Last Mile at World Mail & Express Americas, along with panelists from Doddle, Walmart eCommerce, and Tesla.

If you missed the event, no need to fear: you can watch the entire panel discussion here.

To read more about the last mile, check out these related articles:

• Last-Mile Logistics: A Developer’s Point of View

• How Location APIs can help power Fleet Management Software

• What is Last Mile Delivery Tracking?

FORUM FINDINGS

Our Developer Forum is a great place to get help when you’re stuck on a project, or get inspiration for a new one. Here are some of our most popular forum posts this month.

• Running Maps SDK for Web on Apache instead of node.js

• Implementing route tracking by updating polyline coordinates

• Checking whether a given location point is near, on, or off a route

EVEN MORE RESOURCES

Lastly, we loved these articles from Dev.to for an extra dose of inspiration:

• 5 Super Underrated Free Tools/Resources I use Almost Every Day (As a Front-end Developer)

• 50 Cool Web And Mobile Project Ideas for 2021

• The Hyper-Growth Of Multi-Service On-Demand Apps: Complete Analysis Guide On Creating On-Demand Apps

STAY CONNECTED

Do you have a blog or project you’d like to share with the TomTom Developers community to be featured in an upcoming monthly roundup? Reach out to us at tomtom.developer@gmail.com and let us know!

We hope there’s something in here to get you inspired for your next project! Make sure to follow us on Twitter and YouTube to see what’s coming up next.

Happy mapping!