Professional Windows 8 Programming: Application Development with C# and XAML

Chapter 8

Geolocation

WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Understanding geolocation
• Using geolocation with Windows 8
• Using the Bing Maps SDK with Windows Store apps
• Retrieving directions

WROX.COM CODE DOWNLOADS FOR THIS CHAPTER

You can find the wrox.com code downloads for this chapter at www.wrox.com/remtitle.cgi?isbn=1118205707 on the Download Code tab in the 311813 C08.zip download.

WHAT IS GEOLOCATION?

In the last few years, some of the most popular and impactful apps on mobile platforms have implemented location awareness. These apps have subsequently provided their users with abilities to determine the exact location of the user — or more accurately the device — on the Earth.

Foursquare, as an example, enables users to share their location with others via Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Using foursquare, users can determine what is nearby to see or do, abilities that would not be possible without location awareness.

Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object. Although it is often considered as merely the positioning of an object, the greater emphasis is on determining a meaningful location such as a street address.

The Windows Store has numerous apps that use location awareness, and you can explore some of the scenarios in which developers have used geolocation by searching the store for geolocation using the Windows 8 search charm.

Consider for a moment the Windows 8 Maps app (as shown in Figure 8-1), which indicates the user’s ...