Google Inc.

Benjamin Charles Appleton

Zheng Wang

Adam Sah

Thai Tran

Aaron Joseph Jacobs

Adam Paul Schuck

James Robert MacGill

Steffen Gerd Meschkat

Steffen Meschkat

James Brian McGill

Dmitri Abramov

Michael Greystock Jones

James Robert Macgill

Thor Mitchell

Joseph O Neeman

Marcelo Camelo

A system and method for displaying map layers in order. First vector data which defines one or more features of a first layer of a map is received from a server. Second vector data which defines one or more features of a second layer of the map is received from the server. A first order for displaying the one or more features of the first layer relative to the one more features of the second layer is received. The first vector data and the second vector data are rendered for display based on the received first order, to display the one or more features defined by the first layer relative to the one or more features defined by the second layer based on the received first order.

Displaying map layers in order

A method for providing search results to a user operating a third-party web page includes receiving a search request from the third-party web page. One or more search results may be identified that satisfy the search request. The one or more search results each have identifying information to be presented to a user, as well as substantive content. A unique identifier, such as an opaque token, is associated with each of the search results. The identification of the one or more results is provided to the third-party web page in a pop-up window or a widget. A request for the content for a selected search result of the one or more search results is received. The unique identifier may be used to validate the request, and the content is provided to the user, either directly or through the widget, on the third-party webpage.

Multi-step search result retrieval

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for rendering vector graphics as multiple tiles in an interactive mapping system. In one aspect, a method includes receiving map data in an interactive mapping system. A set of one or more vertices is that defines a vector graphic is processed, where each vertex defines a map location corresponding to map coordinates. For one or more portions of a vector graphic that coincide with a user viewport, one or more respective vector tiles is generated, where the user viewport defines a first region in which map coordinates can be displayed. On a user command, one or more new vector tiles is rendered at the client device using vertices that coincide with the user viewport at a second region, where the respective new portions did not previously coincide with the user viewport at the first region.

Rendering vector data as tiles

Implementations of the present disclosure are directed to a method, system, and storage media for receiving an indication that an attempt to make a modified first version of a directory a current version of the directory in a file system using a consensus protocol did not succeed and, in response thereto, obtaining a most recent second version of the directory including second pointers and a second name associated with each of the second pointers, wherein each second pointer is a reference to an immutable data object in the file system; and identifying one or more of the second names, each identified second name being the same as one of the first names but being associated with a second pointer that is different than the first name's respective first pointer, and obtaining for each identified second name, the data object referenced by the respective second pointer from the file system.

Geographically distributed file system

A first and second secure location indicators are electronically received at one or more servers from a first portable computing device and a second portable computing device, respectively, operating in a wireless communication network. Each of the secure location indicators is generated using the location of the corresponding portable computing device, and neither secure location indicator reveals the location of the corresponding portable computing device to the one or more servers. The first secure location indicator is compared to the second secure location indicator at the one or more servers and, in response to determining that the first secure location indicator is identical to the second secure location indicator, an indication of physical proximity of the second portable computing device is electronically transmitted to the first portable computing device.

Finding nearby users without revealing own location

A computer-implemented method includes displaying information from a mapping application on a first domain on a web page, displaying one or more portable program modules from a second domain on the web page, and generating a display on the mapping application based actions form the one or more portable program modules.

Incorporating gadget functionality on webpages

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for generating shadows. In one aspect, a method includes identifying a two-dimensional image representing an icon and a two-dimensional image representing a light source, applying an affine transformation to a transparency channel of the image representing the icon, the affine transformation projecting pixels of the transparency channel into three-dimensional space, and generating a field of pixels representing a shadow cast by the icon by computing a portion of the light source that is visible to pixels of the field by subtracting rows of a matrix that represents the affine transformation from rows of a matrix that represents the transparency channel of the light source image, and computing brightness of each of the generated pixels of the field based at least partly on the computed portion of the visible light source.

Shadow generation

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for receiving an image file including image data corresponding to a digital image, the digital image being provided in a first space, and projecting the digital image using a non-linear invertible map projection to generate a projected image, the projected image being provided in a second space, projecting the digital image is achieved by: dividing the digital image into segments, scaling each segment to provide modified segments, and generating the projected image using the modified segments.

Non-linear transformation of images in web browsers

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for web page caching. In one aspect, a method includes a request to a server for a service in which the request specifies a natural language of a client user interface in a header of the request. A response from the server is received indicating that future requests for the service to the server are to identify the natural language in a uniform resource locator (URL) for the service. The URL is modified to include a path component that specifies the natural language. Future requests to the server for the modified URL are transmitted and information is received in response that is localized to the natural language specified in the path component of the modified URL.

Web resource caching

A computer-implemented method for performing inter-domain communication in a web browser includes receiving first data from a first domain at a router associated with one or more domains other than the first domain, identifying at the router the one or more domains for receiving data associated with the received data, and transmitting second data associated with the received data to the one or more domains.

Inter-domain communication system using remote procedure calls for message communications between applications in different domains

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes receiving at a data server computer hosted at a first internet domain a request from a client computer for data to be used by an application SWF file received from a web server hosted at a second internet domain and executed by the client computer, the request includes the second internet domain and information specifying the requested data. The method further includes generating at least a portion of a data SWF file including the requested data and a domain identifier corresponding to the second internet domain, the domain identifier configured to specify that SWF formatted files associated with the second internet domain are permitted to access the requested data within the data SWF file. The method also includes transmitting the data SWF file from the data server computer to the client computer.

Cross-domain communicating using data files

A method can be implemented in a portable device operating in a wireless communication network. The method is for securely reporting an indication of a current geographic location of the portable device to a server without revealing the current geographic location of the portable device to the server, where the server is communicatively coupled to the communication network. The method includes generating a pseudo-random value using a signal from an environment in which the portable device operates, generating a location descriptor based on the current geographic location of the portable device, applying a cryptographic function to a combination of the pseudo-random value and the location descriptor to generate a secure location indicator for the portable device, and causing the secure location indicator to be electronically transmitted to the server via the communication network.

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method can include receiving, at a first server corresponding to a first domain, a request from a client computer for a vector graphics file that includes instructions that implement a first method. The method can further include sending the vector graphics file to the client computer, the client computer having received a library file from a second server corresponding to a second domain, wherein the library file includes instructions that implement a second method to direct calls to the first method, and wherein executing the vector graphics file and the library file causes the client computer to perform operations. The operations performed by the client computer can include establishing a link between the first method and the second method and directing a call made to the second method with an argument associated with a data type, to the first method using the established link.

Growing community of inventors

Summer Hill, Australia

Benjamin Charles Appleton