

Styled Maps Using Google Maps API Version 3 - ugh
http://www.41latitude.com/post/1268734799/google-styled-maps

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vog
Those features are already available for a long time in the free software map
clients (e.g. OpenLayers) using free map data (e.g. OpenStreetMap).

With OpenLayers, you can even customize the behavior of your map, because it
is designed as a JS library rather than a proprietary web API. Also, the clean
separation of presentation (map client) and data source (any map server
speaking WMS/WFS/whatever) enables you to combine any map data from any
sources. Thus, handy overlays are possible without relying on the mercy and
the pre-defined possibilities of Google.

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whimsy
Say I want to create a fictional map for use with OpenLayers - what's the best
way to go about this?

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ljegou
Any geographical information software (GIS) offer tools to create spatial
data, from scratch or by copying / digitalizing sources.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geographic_information_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geographic_information_systems_software)

Then you can style them, and design a map, using vector drawing software like
Inkscape.

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vog
OpenLayers also provides editing capabilities. This is used for example in the
OpenStreetMap project.

Note that his requires writing support (WFS-T or similar) on server side.
However, the typical map servers such as GeoServer and Deegree all do support
WFS-T.

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ljegou
Yes OpenLayers is the leading OS project for web maps, in my opinion.
PostGIS/PostgreSQL DB backend is also used often to offer
writing/modification, besides WFS-T. But to draw/digitize the spatial data, it
could be more practical to use a desktop software, instead of a web app.

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borski
This is awesome. Example 7 is going to be particularly useful for something
I'm working on. Thanks for the post; I was actually looking at how to do this
on my own, and now I don't have to. :)

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ThomPete
I used <http://maps.cloudmade.com/> for a mobile app did last year. It's a
really great app for sketching and getting the overall look and feel right.

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j053003
This is _huge_. With API V3 and its accompanying "Wizard", Google has
essentially democratized cartographic design. It's never been _this_ easy.

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ljegou
It's not cartographic design, it's styling (waaaay different).

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happyface
This'll be news to a lot of people--esp. web designers.

Styling is encompassed under design (waaaay _not_ different).

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ljegou
Yep, but not vice versa :)

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happyface
If you understand what you're saying... well, that makes one of us.

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ljegou
Styling is part of design, but not a major part. Am i clear, now ?

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gregh6
These "splitting hairs" comments are lame and unnecessary.

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ljegou
<http://xkcd.com/386/> :)

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primigenus
Love the part with discouraged colouring - they actually remind me of the
trippy part of 2001: A Space Odyssey where Dave goes through the monolith. How
long until someone makes a completely crazy Maps mashup using exactly those
colours?

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andr
This is an interesting change to the GMaps infrastructure. In the past, all
map tiles were pre-rendered, but now it looks like they are being generated
dynamically. Anyone got any inside info as to what lead to that change?

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chrisbroadfoot
As far as I know, tiles have always been rendered on the fly.

