Develop Reference

How to cache android.graphics.path or Bitmap when using Overlays?

I'm using an Overlay to mark areas on Google Maps by drawing a shape of ten thousands of GeoPoints I get from any source. This works and looks like this:
#Override
public void draw(android.graphics.Canvas canvas, MapView mapView, boolean shadow) {
super.draw(canvas, mapView, false);
Projection projection = mapView.getProjection();
List<Zone> zones = ApplicationContext.getZones();
path.rewind();
for (Zone zone : zones) {
paint.setDither(true);
paint.setStyle(Style.FILL);
paint.setAlpha(40);
MultiPolygon multiPolygon = zone.getMultiPolygon();
List<Polygon> polygons = multiPolygon.getPolygons();
for (Polygon polygon : polygons) {
for (List<Coordinate> coordinates : polygon.getCoordinates()) {
for (int i = 0; i < coordinates.size(); i++) {
Point p = new Point();
projection.toPixels(new GeoPoint((int)(coordinates.get(i).getLatitude() * 1E6), (int)(coordinates.get(i).getLongitude() * 1E6)), p);
if (i == 0) {
path.moveTo(p.x, p.y);
}
else {
path.lineTo(p.x, p.y);
}
}
}
}
}
canvas.drawPath(path, paint);
}
The problem is that this is very resource consuming. Every time one scrolls or moves the map on MapView, the path has to be calculated over and over again, because the pixel coordinates have been changed. The drawn area could become so big that the scrolling on the MapView is so slow that it is functional unusable.
My ideas are
to somehow cache the "shape" the path generates and just redraw it
when the zoom level changes on the MapView.
to somehow draw the painting on an "on the fly"-Bitmap to use it as Overlay (maybe as ItemizedOverlay), listen for MapView scrolling and move the bitmap by the scrolled distance.
I'm not sure if there are better methods.
Any ideas how I could solve this problem?
(I'm using Google Maps API 1 and can't change).

Before resorting to trying to figure out how to match the map's movement, there are some optimizations to your current code that will probably yield significant savings. In particular, these two lines inside your inner loop is executed the most times, but fairly expensive to execute (two memory allocations, floating point multiplies, and four method calls).
Point p = new Point();
projection.toPixels(new GeoPoint((int)(coordinates.get(i).getLatitude() * 1E6), (int)(coordinates.get(i).getLongitude() * 1E6)), p);
First, you only ever need one Point object, so avoid allocating it in your loop. Move it to just below your path.rewind();
Second, if you pre-computed your coordinates as GeoPoints instead of computing them each time, you would save a lot of processing in your draw routine. You can also get rid of that if statement with a little work. Assuming you preconvert your list of coordinate to a list of GeoPoint, and make it available through polygon.getGeoCoordinates(), you could end up with your inner loops looking like -
for (List<GeoPoint> geoCoordinates : polygon.getGeoCoordinates()) {
projection.toPixels(geoCoordinates.get(0),p);
path.moveTo(p.x, p.y); // move to first spot
final List<GeoPoint> lineToList = geoCoordinates.sublist(1,geoCoordinates.size()); // A list of all the other points
for(GeoPoint gp : lineToList) {
projection.toPixels(gp, p);
path.lineTo(p.x, p.y);
}
}
And that will run a lot faster than what you were doing before.

After tinkering around in the last days I found a possible solution (and I don't think there is a better one) to not draw the path over and over again but move it to the current position.
The difficult part was to figure out how to cache the drawn shape to not calculate it over and over again. This can be done by using a Matrix. With this Matrix (I imagine this as some kind of "template") you can manipulate the points coordinates inside the path. The first time (when someone starts moving the Map) I draw the area as usual. When it tries to calculate it the second time or more, I don't redraw the shape but I manipulate the path by calculating the "delta" from the current point to the last point. I know what the current point is, because I always map the original GeoPoint (which always stays the same) to the point which results from the current projection. The "delta" needs to be set as Matrix. After that I transform the path by using this new Matrix. The result is really very fast. The scrolling of the Map is as fast as without using an Overlay.
This looks like this (this is no production code, and it cannot deal with zooming yet, but it shows the principle I use as basis for my optimizations):
public class DistrictOverlay extends Overlay {
// private final static String TAG = DistrictOverlay.class.getSimpleName();
private Paint paint = new Paint();
private Path path = new Path();
private boolean alreadyDrawn = false;
private GeoPoint origGeoPoint;
Point p = new Point();
Point lastPoint = new Point();
#Override
public void draw(android.graphics.Canvas canvas, MapView mapView, boolean shadow) {
super.draw(canvas, mapView, false);
Projection projection = mapView.getProjection();
List<Zone> zones = ApplicationContext.getZones();
if (!alreadyDrawn) {
path.rewind();
for (Zone zone : zones) {
if (!zone.getZoneId().equals(MenuContext.getChosenZoneId())) {
continue;
}
String dateString = zone.getEffectiveFrom().trim().replace("CEST", "").replace("GMT", "").replace("CET", "").replace("MESZ", "");
if (DateUtil.isBeforeCurrentDate(dateString)) {
paint.setColor(Color.RED);
} else {
paint.setColor(Color.GREEN);
}
paint.setDither(true);
paint.setStyle(Style.FILL);
paint.setAlpha(40);
MultiPolygon multiPolygon = zone.getMultiPolygon();
List<Polygon> polygons = multiPolygon.getPolygons();
for (Polygon polygon : polygons) {
for (List<GeoPoint> geoPoints : polygon.getGeoPoints()) {
projection.toPixels(geoPoints.get(0), p);
path.moveTo(p.x, p.y);
origGeoPoint = new GeoPoint(geoPoints.get(0).getLatitudeE6(), geoPoints.get(0).getLongitudeE6());
lastPoint = new Point(p.x, p.y);
final List<GeoPoint> pathAsList = geoPoints.subList(1, geoPoints.size());
for (GeoPoint geoPoint : pathAsList) {
projection.toPixels(geoPoint, p);
path.lineTo(p.x, p.y);
}
}
}
}
}
else {
projection.toPixels(origGeoPoint, p);
Matrix translateMatrix = new Matrix();
translateMatrix.setTranslate(p.x - lastPoint.x, p.y - lastPoint.y);
path.transform(translateMatrix);
lastPoint = new Point(p.x, p.y);
}
canvas.drawPath(path, paint);
if (!path.isEmpty()) {
alreadyDrawn = true;
}
}
#Override
public boolean onTap(GeoPoint p, MapView mapView) {
return true;
}
}

Drawing routes in Android collapses the device

I'm developing an Android aplication that has to show some "places of interest" on a mapview, along with the device current location. This works well.
Also, in my app, the user could "tap" a "place of interest" marker and the aplication would have to draw a route to that marker.
I used Google Directions api to get the route, along with a polyline decoder to get the GeoPoints between the user and the place. For my testing route, google gives me about 200 different GeoPoints.
So, I have a class like this to add those GeoPoints:
public class RouteOverlay extends Overlay {
private GeoPoint gp1;
private GeoPoint gp2;
private int color;
public RouteOverlay(GeoPoint gp1, GeoPoint gp2, int color) {
this.gp1 = gp1;
this.gp2 = gp2;
this.color = color;
}
#Override
public void draw(Canvas canvas, MapView mapView, boolean shadow) {
Projection projection = mapView.getProjection();
Paint paint = new Paint();
Point point = new Point();
projection.toPixels(gp1, point);
paint.setColor(color);
Point point2 = new Point();
projection.toPixels(gp2, point2);
paint.setStrokeWidth(5);
paint.setAlpha(120);
canvas.drawLine(point.x, point.y, point2.x, point2.y, paint);
super.draw(canvas, mapView, shadow);
}
}
what I do to draw the route is the following:
1) Detect the onClick event to a marker in the map.
2) From that event, I create a new thread, where I make the call to the Google API.
3) Once I have the result, I parse/convert it in a GeoPoint list.
4) Then I call my drawPath method:
private void drawPath(List<GeoPoint> geoPoints, int color) {
mapOverlays.clear();
mapOverlays.add(myLocationOverlay);
mapOverlays.add(itemizedoverlay);
for (int i = 1; i < geoPoints.size(); i++) {
mapOverlays.add(new RouteOverlay(geoPoints.get(i - 1), geoPoints.get(i), color));
}
mapView.postInvalidate();
5) Finally, I return to the UI thread.
This method clears the map overlay list (mapOverlays). Then, adds to the list the current location and the "places of interest" overlays. And, finally, adds the route overlays.
The problem is that, suddenly, works veeery slow and finally crashes. But there is no message in the LogCat. So, I thought that 30 overlays + 1 + more than 200 for the route are too much for the phone to handle. But the tutorials I've seen do it this way so...
Can someone tell me if I do anything wrong?
Thanks in advance.

I figured out what I was doing wrong.
When I called the drawPath function, after obtaining the List of GeoPoints, I made a loop to check the coordinates of each point. Something like
for (int i = 0; i < geoList.size(); i++){
Log.i("GEOPOINT " + i, geoList.get(i).toString());
drawpath(geoList, Color.BLUE);
}
The drawPath function got called N times. So the device crashed. My fault.
Programming at 2:00 am is not good for the code!

Showing custom pointer in google maps [Monodroid]

I am developing application with monodroid andI would like to insert custom pointer in my maps from Resource>Drawable.
I am able to draw text but i don't know how to insert my custom pointer in my map.
Currently it shows me small rectangle with red color in the current location of user.
Here is the code for Draw method.
public override void Draw(Android.Graphics.Canvas canvas, MapView mapView, bool shadow)
{
base.Draw(canvas, mapView, shadow);
var paint = new Paint();
paint.AntiAlias = true;
paint.Color = Color.Red;
var pt = mapView.Projection.ToPixels(_latlng, null);
float distance = mapView.Projection.MetersToEquatorPixels(10);
canvas.DrawText("Your Taxi is here", pt.X + distance, pt.Y + distance, paint);
canvas.DrawRect( pt.X, pt.Y, pt.X + distance, pt.Y + distance, paint);
}

Download full working demo with custom pointer
http://www.filedropper.com/androidopenstreetmapview120516a
If map is not display in emulator or mobile device then change Map API key .

How to properly use drawMyLocation

I am trying to show the users current location with the default blue dot in android. In my maps page I also have a layout that shows different points of interest. Im having trouble figuring out what to put for some of the variables and was wondering if someone could help me out.
This is what I'm using so far to show my location.
Location location = locationManager
.getLastKnownLocation(bestProvider);
try {
GeoPoint myPoint2 = new GeoPoint(
(int) (location.getLatitude() * 1E6),
(int) (location.getLongitude() * 1E6));
newoverlay.drawMyLocation(null, mapView, location, myPoint2,
1000);
mapOverlays.add(newoverlay);
} catch (NullPointerException e) {
GeoPoint myPoint2 = new GeoPoint((int) (-1 * 1E6),
(int) (-1 * 1E6));
**newoverlay.drawMyLocation(null, mapView, location, myPoint2,
1000);**
mapOverlays.add(newoverlay);
}
I'm not sure what to put as the Canvas so I placed it with null so that it would compile. I'm using the location from a location Manager and I have my geopoint from the location variable. I'm also unsure what the "when" parameter is supposed to be.
I was also wondering how the blue bubble knows to move with the person, does the picture update every x milliseconds depending on the "when" parameter?
So far the app isn't crashing, but it is also not showing the blue dot at any location.
I'm sure I just need help with finding what the canvas parameter should be.
Thanks

try this way in your map activity
class CurOverlay extends Overlay {
private GeoPoint pointToDraw;
public void setPointToDraw(GeoPoint point) {
pointToDraw = point;
}
public GeoPoint getPointToDraw() {
return pointToDraw;
}
#Override
public boolean draw(Canvas canvas, MapView curmapView, boolean shadow,
long when) {
super.draw(canvas, curmapView, shadow);
// convert point to pixels
Point screenPts = new Point();
curmapView.getProjection().toPixels(pointToDraw, screenPts);
// add marker
Bitmap bmp = BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(),
R.drawable.pinsource);
canvas.drawBitmap(bmp, screenPts.x - 28, screenPts.y - 48, null);
return true;
}
}
i hope this will work for you.

Efficient Map Overlays in Android Google Map

I want to do the following and am kind of stuck on these for a few days:
I was trying to draw polylines (I have encoded polylines, but have managed to decode those) that move when I move the map.
The only solution that I found was for Geopoints to be transformed into screen coordinates... which won't move if I move the map.
I used HelloItemizedOverlay to add about 150 markers and it gets very very slow.
Any idea what to do? I was thinking about threads (handler).
I was looking for some sort of a timer function that executes a given function periodically, say, every 1 minute or so.
I was also looking for ways to clear the Google map from all the markers/lines, etc.

Answers given below :
1) Here's a solution that I used :
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
private List<Overlay> mapOverlays;
private Projection projection;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
linearLayout = (LinearLayout) findViewById(R.id.zoomview);
mapView = (MapView) findViewById(R.id.mapview);
mapView.setBuiltInZoomControls(true);
mapOverlays = mapView.getOverlays();
projection = mapView.getProjection();
mapOverlays.add(new MyOverlay());
}
#Override
protected boolean isRouteDisplayed() {
return false;
}
class MyOverlay extends Overlay{
public MyOverlay(){
}
public void draw(Canvas canvas, MapView mapv, boolean shadow){
super.draw(canvas, mapv, shadow);
Paint mPaint = new Paint();
mPaint.setDither(true);
mPaint.setColor(Color.RED);
mPaint.setStyle(Paint.Style.FILL_AND_STROKE);
mPaint.setStrokeJoin(Paint.Join.ROUND);
mPaint.setStrokeCap(Paint.Cap.ROUND);
mPaint.setStrokeWidth(2);
GeoPoint gP1 = new GeoPoint(19240000,-99120000);
GeoPoint gP2 = new GeoPoint(37423157, -122085008);
Point p1 = new Point();
Point p2 = new Point();
Path path = new Path();
Projection projection.toPixels(gP1, p1);
projection.toPixels(gP2, p2);
path.moveTo(p2.x, p2.y);
path.lineTo(p1.x,p1.y);
canvas.drawPath(path, mPaint);
}
courtesy: Drawing a line/path on Google Maps
2) Here's what worked for me :
createMarkers()
{
for(elem:bigList)
{
GeoPoint geoPoint = new GeoPoint((int)(elem.getLat()*1000000), (int) (elem.getLon()*1000000));
OverlayItem overlayItem = new OverlayItem(geoPoint, elem.getName(), elem.getData());
itemizedOverlay.addOverlay(overlayItem);
}
itemizedOverlay.populateNow();
mapOverlays.add(itemizedOverlay); //outside of for loop
}
and in MyOverlay:
public void addOverlay(OverlayItem overlay)
{
m_overlays.add(overlay);
}
public void populateNow()
{
populate();
}
courtesy: stackoverflow.com unknown link
3) The best way is to use a timer class. A very detailed description of the timer class and how to use it is given at this link :
http://life.csu.edu.au/java-tut/essential/threads/timer.html
4) I used this code :
if(!mapOverlays.isEmpty())
{
mapOverlays.clear();
mapView.invalidate();
}
Hope these answers help atleast one other person. Thanks.

I have the same problem. We are developing an iphone app and an android app at the same time. I have 2500 + map overlays. No problem on iphone; a huge performance hit on android when calling populate() after adding all overlays. (Of course, my first try was to call populate() every time after adding an overlay; a typical mistake due to google's tutorial. Now I am calling populate() just once, after all 2500+ overlays have been added to the ItemizedOverlay.)
So the single populate() call takes over 40 seconds to complete on an htc hero device. I had to put in a busy indicator; no progress bar is possible because we cannot get any information about the progress of populate().
I tried another solution: not use ItemizedOverlay but add overlays by hand, subclassing Overlay. Result: indeed it is much faster to add all those overlays to the map; however, the map becomes unusable due to constant calling of the draw() method on each overlay. In my draw method, I tried to optimize as much as possible; I do not create a bitmap every time. My draw() method looks like this:
public void draw(android.graphics.Canvas canvas, MapView mapView, boolean shadow) {
// our marker bitmap already includes shadow.
// centerPoint is the geopoint where we need to put the marker.
if (!shadow) {
Point point = new Point();
mapView.getProjection().toPixels(centerPoint, point);
canvas.drawBitmap(markerBitmap, point.x, point.y, null);
}
}
Here markerBitmap is precomputed. I don't know what else I could optimize. Is there some kind of populate() call required if we are not using ItemizedOverlay??? I could not find any good answers for that.
Right now I resort to caching the ItemizedOverlay once it has been created in a background thread. This way at least the user does not have to wait every time.

For #2, I don't think you solved anything there. Your hard-to-read code is showing how to put markers on overlay and then, how to add that overlay to the map. That's exactly how I do it. I have map with around 300 hotels and it takes around 5 seconds for Android on my Nexus One to create markers. The whole thing is running inside thread and I guess I will have to do some sort of progress bar to let user know what's going on.
I am working on app that already exists on iPhone and it seems iPhone doesn't have any issues to almost instantaneously draw these 300+ markers. I'll have hard time to explain existence of progress bar to my bosses.
If anybody have idea how to optimize this process... I will be grateful.
Here is my code:
...
for (int m = 0; m < ArrList.size(); m++) {
tName = ArrList.get(m).get("name").toString();
tId = ArrList.get(m).get("id").toString();
tLat = ArrList.get(m).get("lat").toString();;
tLng = ArrList.get(m).get("lng").toString();;
try {
lat = Double.parseDouble(tLat);
lng = Double.parseDouble(tLng);
p1 = new GeoPoint(
(int) (lat * 1E6),
(int) (lng * 1E6));
OverlayItem overlayitem = new OverlayItem(p1, tName, tId);
itemizedoverlay.addOverlay(overlayitem);
} catch (NumberFormatException e) {
Log.d(TAG, "NumberFormatException" + e);
}
}
I know I could save some time by avoiding this String > Double conversion, but I don't feel that would give me significant saving.. or it would?

For your 4th question.... simply use the mapOverlays.clear(); method and all the previous markers will be vanished.
code:
if(!mapOverlays.isEmpty()) {
mapOverlays.clear();
mapView.invalidate();
}

Multiple number of drawable objects can be added to a single Overlay which can then be added to the map. Hence, drawing x number of overlay's for x number of objects wouldnt be necessary unless the objects are of different types. Code snippet..
..
Here, CustomPinPoint is my class which extends ItemizedOverlay<OverlayItem>
CustomPinPoint customPinPoint = new CustomPinPoint(drawable, Main.this);
OverlayItem tempOverLayItem = new OverlayItem(
touchedPoint, "PinPoint", "PintPoint 2"); //Point One
customPinPoint.insertPinPoint(tempOverLayItem);
tempOverLayItem = new OverlayItem(new GeoPoint(
(int)(-27.34498 * 1E6), (int)(153.00724 * 1E6)), "PinPoint",
"PintPoint 2"); //Point Two
customPinPoint.insertPinPoint(tempOverLayItem);
overlayList.add(customPinPoint); //Overlay added only once