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OpenLayers

openlayers.org

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Re: OpenLayers

#2
OpenLayers was one of the first open source libraries of this kind; sadly it's lost some development momentum back when everyone was using it in 2008 or so, and nearly everyone switched to (then faster) alternatives like Leaflet.

Re: OpenLayers

#3

OpenLayers was one of the first open source libraries of this kind; sadly it's lost some development momentum back when everyone was using it in 2008 or so, and nearly everyone switched to (then faster) alternatives like Leaflet.

Anyone know how OpenLayers compares to Leaflet today?

Re: OpenLayers

#4

OpenLayers was one of the first open source libraries of this kind; sadly it's lost some development momentum back when everyone was using it in 2008 or so, and nearly everyone switched to (then faster) alternatives like Leaflet.

Anyone know how OpenLayers compares to Leaflet today?

Well, I think it has better (official) WebGL support than leaflet, but most all the developers I know are jumping to Mapbox by default.

EDIT: My favorite open source library right now is maptalks. Basically mapbox sort of functionality and rendering, but totally free.

Re: OpenLayers

#5

OpenLayers was one of the first open source libraries of this kind; sadly it's lost some development momentum back when everyone was using it in 2008 or so, and nearly everyone switched to (then faster) alternatives like Leaflet.

Anyone know how OpenLayers compares to Leaflet today?

Not to blow my own horn but my background is very intimately in Web-GIS (Bachelor's and Master's in geography), my career for 7 years has been in robotics and building web-UIs for real-time robotics GIS, so I think I'm probably an expert here.

I've used Leaflet for a few years and now OpenLayers for about 5 years to author UIs for monitoring robot fleets in real-time as well as build Web-GIS applications for mapping and configuring, autogenerating, validating the spatial datasets (fiducials, SLAM data, navigable positions, "zones", "pathways", etc.)

Leaflet is what I'd say will fit most people's needs when it comes to your standard web-map use cases. It's a beautifully designed library with a good level of modularity and lots of plugins. The API is great.

OpenLayers shines when you get into a lot more complex stuff. The symbology engine is phenomenally powerful and I found that the API plugs into more complex Redux-style state management in a more easy way than Leaflet.

I also found performance when doing high-volume, high-frequency data updates and interactions to be faster with OpenLayers.

That being said, I haven't dug deeply into Leaflet in about a year and things can change quite quickly!

I suspect the overwhelming majority of developers aren't doing anything all that novel or complicated. They're not making Web-GIS applications and probably will do just fine with either.

Re: OpenLayers

#6
Speaking of, does anyone know a cheaper service than Mapbox and Google Maps for raster tiles?

I have an app that uses Leaflet for rendering, and Mapbox purely for its raster tiles (both plain maps and satellite required). Mapbox has been cheap for us, at about $50/mo. But with the new pricing structure taking effect in December, it's now about $450/mo. I believe Google and Bing are both more expensive than that.

I've been considering setting up OSM, but I'd like to avoid having to run and maintain it.

Re: OpenLayers

#7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone know how OpenLayers compares to Leaflet today?

Not to blow my own horn but my background is very intimately in Web-GIS (Bachelor's and Master's in geography), my career for 7 years has been in robotics and building web-UIs for real-time robotics GIS, so I think I'm probably an expert here. I've used Leaflet for a few years and now OpenLayers for about 5 years to author UIs for monitoring robot fleets in real-time as well as build Web-GIS applications for mapping…

Thanks for your perspective

Re: OpenLayers

#8

Speaking of, does anyone know a cheaper service than Mapbox and Google Maps for raster tiles? I have an app that uses Leaflet for rendering, and Mapbox purely for its raster tiles (both plain maps and satellite required). Mapbox has been cheap for us, at about $50/mo. But with the new pricing structure taking effect in December, it's now about $450/mo. I believe Google and Bing are both more expensive than that. I've…

If you can find the time to set it up, OpenMapTiles [0] is the way to go. In the long run, you’ll probably save more money than the time it takes to manage.

[0] https://openmaptiles.org/

Re: OpenLayers

#9
post #8

Speaking of, does anyone know a cheaper service than Mapbox and Google Maps for raster tiles? I have an app that uses Leaflet for rendering, and Mapbox purely for its raster tiles (both plain maps and satellite required). Mapbox has been cheap for us, at about $50/mo. But with the new pricing structure taking effect in December, it's now about $450/mo. I believe Google and Bing are both more expensive than that. I've…

If you can find the time to set it up, OpenMapTiles [0] is the way to go. In the long run, you’ll probably save more money than the time it takes to manage. [0] https://openmaptiles.org/

Interesting, thanks. Unfortunately, those tiles are pretty ugly compared to Mapbox, but it might be an option if I can't find anything else.

Edit: Also it's $1,000 for commercial use, even to use with OSM data?

Re: OpenLayers

#10
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can find the time to set it up, OpenMapTiles [0] is the way to go. In the long run, you’ll probably save more money than the time it takes to manage. [0] https://openmaptiles.org/

Interesting, thanks. Unfortunately, those tiles are pretty ugly compared to Mapbox, but it might be an option if I can't find anything else. Edit: Also it's $1,000 for commercial use, even to use with OSM data?

Could you send an example of a great looking map?
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