mapbox-gl

What is mapbox-gl?

The mapbox-gl npm package is a powerful library for interactive, customizable maps and geospatial data visualization. It leverages WebGL to render maps from vector tiles and allows for dynamic styling and interactivity.

What are mapbox-gl's main functionalities?

Display a Map

This code initializes a basic map using Mapbox GL JS. It sets the map container, style, center coordinates, and zoom level.

const mapboxgl = require('mapbox-gl');
mapboxgl.accessToken = 'your-access-token';
const map = new mapboxgl.Map({
  container: 'map',
  style: 'mapbox://styles/mapbox/streets-v11',
  center: [-74.5, 40],
  zoom: 9
});

Add a Marker

This code adds a marker to the map at the specified longitude and latitude coordinates.

const marker = new mapboxgl.Marker()
  .setLngLat([-74.5, 40])
  .addTo(map);

Add a Popup

This code creates a popup with a text message and attaches it to a specific location on the map.

const popup = new mapboxgl.Popup({ offset: 25 })
  .setText('Hello, World!')
  .setLngLat([-74.5, 40])
  .addTo(map);

Draw a Polygon

This code draws a polygon on the map by defining its coordinates and adding it as a layer when the map loads.

const polygon = {
  'type': 'Feature',
  'geometry': {
    'type': 'Polygon',
    'coordinates': [
      [
        [-74.5, 40],
        [-74.5, 41],
        [-73.5, 41],
        [-73.5, 40],
        [-74.5, 40]
      ]
    ]
  }
};
map.on('load', function () {
  map.addLayer({
    'id': 'polygon',
    'type': 'fill',
    'source': {
      'type': 'geojson',
      'data': polygon
    },
    'layout': {},
    'paint': {
      'fill-color': '#088',
      'fill-opacity': 0.8
    }
  });
});

Other packages similar to mapbox-gl

leaflet

Leaflet is a widely used open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. It is lightweight and easy to use, but it does not support vector tiles and WebGL rendering natively like mapbox-gl.

openlayers

OpenLayers is a high-performance, feature-rich library for displaying map data in web browsers. It supports a wide range of map types and data sources, including vector tiles, but it can be more complex to set up compared to mapbox-gl.

cesium

Cesium is a JavaScript library for creating 3D globes and 2D maps. It is highly performant and supports WebGL, making it suitable for complex geospatial visualizations. However, it is more focused on 3D rendering compared to mapbox-gl.

README

A WebGL JavaScript interactive maps library that can render Mapbox Vector Tiles.

Setup

To install dependencies and build the source files:

$ npm install

To serve the debug page:

$ npm start &
$ open http://localhost:3000/debug/?access_token=$MapboxAccessToken

This assumes you have the MapboxAccessToken environment variable set to a Mapbox API token from https://www.mapbox.com/account/apps/. It will watch the source files and automatically rebuild the browserify bundle whenever a change is detected.

Tests are written in tape and can run on Sauce Labs via zuul.

• npm test: local tests run in nodejs - excludes browser tests
• npm run cov: generate test coverage report - excludes browser tests
• npm run test-remote: run all tests on Sauce Labs. requires Sauce Labs credentials in your environment.
• npm run test-browser: run all tests locally in a browser.

API Documentation

npm run docs: generate API docs

Style Reference

Sprite Generation

npm run build-sprite [outname] [inputdirs]: generate an image sprite by running this script on one or more directories of PNG images.

Recommended Reading

Learning WebGL

• Greggman's WebGL articles
• WebGL reference card

GL performance

• Debugging and Optimizing WebGL applications
• Graphics Pipeline Performance

Misc

• drawing antialiased lines
• drawing text with signed distance fields
• label placement
• distance fields

Changelog

0.3.1 (Oct 06 2014)

Bugfixes

• Fixed iteration over arrays with for/in
• Made browserify deps non-dev (#752)