Here’s a nice two-part tutorial on using the Google Maps API to build yourself a distance finder for a website. Part two explains how to build functionality to allow the user to choose different kinds of routes depending on their mode of transportation and also make drag-able markers where the distance between two points is automatically recomputed. A lot of people who are not professional programmers are aware that the Google Maps API (as well as quite a few others) are available for them to use to facilitate a great idea for a web application they might have. This tutorial assumes very little prior knowledge of how to use APIs and could definitely serve to bridge the gap between that great idea and its implementation. Check it out now or save it for later.