Google maps Javascript API vs. KML layer?

Question

Is there any general advice when to use KML layers or the Javascript API? There are several needs for the app. I need to display markers for moving object on the map. These will be refreshed every minute in average. But there will be a lot of static markers to be displayed on demand. These are just markers. But in another screen I need to draw the driven routes.

Actually I'm not sure what's the best way of displaying all the needed data. KML? Only get the data and to the rest by the API on the fly? Generate the code on the server and just upload it to the browser. What would be the best in terms of performance and and easy usage for the developer?

Answer 1

I think javascript layers are faster than kml. (The fastest speed is to generate image tiles - but that takes a lot of time and needs to be done statically).

I'd use AJAX to generate the data on the server and send it to the API on the fly.

I think KML is useful if you want to share the data with other websites and people using desktop GIS software. It is extremely easy to use someone else's KML layer. It is much harder to use their javascript array.