Lightweight vector maps on a globe
Inspired by Leaflet: a simple, light-weight mapping library, without the distortion of flat maps. Show your GIS data in 3D, as it would appear from space.
See a simple example with geojson data displayed over the Basic Style from OpenMapTiles.
Like Leaflet, we design for simplicity, performance, and usability.
Need lots of features, like 3D buildings? Try CesiumJS. Globelet will only do a few things, but it will do them well.
GlobeletJS is provided as an ESM import. Define your script tag as
type="module", then import the module:
<script type="module">
import * as globeletjs from "https://unpkg.com/globeletjs@<VERSION>/dist/globelet.js";
// Add code to initialize a globe here...
// ...
</script>
Or if you prefer, you can use the older-style IIFE bundle:
<script src="https://unpkg.com/globeletjs@<VERSION>/dist/globelet-iife.js">
Either bundle will give you a global variable globeletjs, which has an
initGlobe method. See the next section for how to use this method.
Make sure to also link to the stylesheet (/dist/globelet.css) in the <head>
of your HTML file.
<link
rel="stylesheet"
type="text/css"
href="https://unpkg.com/globeletjs@<VERSION>/dist/globelet.css">
The globeletjs object has an initGlobe method that can initialize a new
globe as follows:
const params = {
container: 'globe',
style: "./klokantech-basic-style-geojson.json",
center: [-100, 38.5],
altitude: 6280,
};
const globePromise = globeletjs.initGlobe(params);
The params object supplied to initGlobe can have the following properties:
container (REQUIRED): An HTML DIV element (or its string ID) where
the globe will be displayedstyle (REQUIRED): A link to a MapLibre style document
describing the map to be rendered. Please see below for some notes about
supported map styles.mapboxToken: Your API token for Mapbox services (if needed)width: The width of the map that will be projected onto the globe,
in pixels. Defaults to container.clientWidth + 512height: The height of the map that will be projected onto the globe,
in pixels. Defaults to container.clientHeight + 512center: The initial geographic position of the camera, given as
[longitude, latitude] in degrees. Default: [0.0, 0.0]altitude: The initial altitude of the camera, in kilometers.
Default: 20000The returned Promise resolves to an API handle, which you can use to interact with the globe, as described in the next section.
The Promise returned by initGlobe resolves to an API object, which you can
use to control the globe.
globePromise.then(globeAPI => {
globeAPI.startAnimation();
// ...etc. Do more things with globeAPI here...
});
globeAPI exposes the following properties and methods:
mapLoaded(): Returns a fractional number from 0.0 to 1.0 indicating the
fraction of the tiles needed for the current view that are fully loadedselect(layer, dxy): Selects map features from the specified layer, within
pixel distance dxy from the current cursor positionshowLayer(layer): Turns on rendering for the specified map layerhideLayer(layer): Turns off rendering for the specified map layergetZoom(): Returns the current zoom level of the mapstartAnimation(): Starts animationstopAnimation(): Stops animationupdate(time): Updates the camera position based on current position and
velocity and cursor inputs since the last update. Input is a timestamp in
milliseconds as supplied by requestAnimationFrame. For animation loops
managed by the parent programcameraPos(): Returns the camera position as reported by spinning-ballcursorPos(): Returns the cursor position as reported by spinning-ballisMoving(): Returns the value of the camMoving flag in spinning-ballwasTapped(): Returns the value of the wasTapped flag in spinning-balladdMarker(options): Adds a marker to the globe. See markers section belowremoveMarker(marker): Removes a given marker from memory and from the DOMdestroy(): Clears memory / removes elements from documentA marker can be added to the globe as follows:
const marker = globeAPI.addMarker(options);
where options is an object with the following properties:
element: A link to an HTML Element that will be used to visualize the
marker position. If not supplied, a default SVG will be usedtype: The type of marker. If type === "spot", the marker element will
default to a circular SVG; otherwise it defaults to a standard placemarker
SVGposition: An Array containing longitude and latitude of the desired
marker position, in degrees, and (optionally) the altitude in kilometersThe returned marker object has the following properties:
element: Back-link to the HTML element used to represent the marker
positionposition: A Float64Array containing the longitude and latitude of the marker
position, in degrees, and its altitude in kilometersscreenPos: A 2-element Array containing the current screen position of the
marker, in pixels from top leftAt each animation frame (or each call to globeAPI.update()), GlobeletJS will
automatically update screenPos, and use it to set the element's displayed
position via style.left and style.top.
A marker can be removed from the globe as follows:
globeAPI.removeMarker(marker);
Many features described in the style specification are not yet supported. This is partly by design--GlobeletJS is intended to be an 80/20 map solution, implementing 80% of the specification with 20% as much code as other software. But we are adding support for more features over time.
The map rendering is delegated to the tile-setter module, which is limited by some of its dependencies. See the "un-supported features" list for tile-stencil and the tile-gl TODO list for an (incomplete) list of what is not supported.
We welcome your feedback on what additional features you would like to see supported. Or better yet, try adding them yourself! See the contributing guidelines for how to get started.
FAQs
Lightweight vector maps on a globe
The npm package globeletjs receives a total of 7 weekly downloads. As such, globeletjs popularity was classified as not popular.
We found that globeletjs demonstrated a not healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
Did you know?
Socket for GitHub automatically highlights issues in each pull request and monitors the health of all your open source dependencies. Discover the contents of your packages and block harmful activity before you install or update your dependencies.
Security News
Biden's executive order pushes for AI-driven cybersecurity, software supply chain transparency, and stronger protections for federal and open source systems.
Security News
Fluent Assertions is facing backlash after dropping the Apache license for a commercial model, leaving users blindsided and questioning contributor rights.
Research
Security News
Socket researchers uncover the risks of a malicious Python package targeting Discord developers.