Practice exercises
Here are weblinks to provide additional resources so that you can complete the below exercises:
Click on the following links, which will open in a new window.
Exercise 1: Creating a Google My Map
Exercise 2: Mapping with the Google Maps Embed API
Exercise 3: Creating a simple map with the Google Maps JavaScript API
Exercise 4: Using OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap is a sort of Wikipedia of mapping: unlike Google Maps, OSM is not owned by any one organization and is freely available to download and edit.
Exercise 5: Using Mapbox
Mapbox provides additional basemap designs that cannot be found in either Google Maps or OSM, provides access to Landsat imagery, and allows users to both draw and import their own vector data. Mapbox can be edited directly from the browser or from a downloadable software package called Mapbox Studio.
Exercise 6: Using CartoDB
CartoDB is another web-based mapping platform built largely with open source tools and providing a free entry-level mapping tier. Like Mapbox, CartoDB provides access to several styled map layers to use as basemaps and the ability to import data, and like Google Fusion Tables it provides some basic GIS functionality for querying and symbolizing data.
Exercise 7: Using OpenLayers
OpenLayers supports several different types of tiled basemap layers, including those from OpenStreetMap and Mapbox, as well as multiple types of vector data formats. Significantly revamped in the latest version (OpenLayers 3), this mapping library can be accessed from a script from within an HTML page, similar to the Google Maps API, but the full distribution can also be downloaded and run on a local server since it is fully open source.
Exercise 8: Using Leaflet
Leaflet is open source and lets you bring in many different types of basemap tiles and vector data formats to create interactive maps. Since it is a JavaScript library, the code looks similar to our previous JavaScript examples.