The Mapfluence REST API enables the building of HTTP requests that build maps and return a rendered tile to the requesting client. The use of REST to build paths for the various types of mapping layers are covered in the following sections:
Note: For complete details on the purpose and valid values of map properties, refer to the /map page of the Mapfluence REST API Reference at http://developer.urbanmapping.com/docs/mapfluence/rest/2.0/reference/tile/MapPermalink.
| 5.1 Base Maps with REST | go: top |
A base map, which is an image that displays land, water, and perhaps other geographical features (national boundaries, public lands, etc), serves as the bottom layer for all data overlays in a mapping application, and is therefore required for all mapping operations. Mapfluence supports several different sources for base maps.
As described in Mapping Paths, in REST the base map source is specified using a base map code:
The base map code appears in the path after the map layer specifications and before the query string (if any). If no base map code is present in the path, the default (Mapfluence) base map will be used.
| 5.2 Map Layers with REST | go: top |
As we've seen in Mapping Paths, the string that lies in between the endpoint and the base map code is the part of the path that actually defines the map that is built from data catalog information, rendered on top of the base map (as specified with the base map code), and returned by the Mapfluence server.
For each layer used in the map the layer definition string is made up of a series of property=value pairs, each of which is separated from the next by a pipe ("|"). The following example shows a string used to specify the properties of single simple layer:
/mode=simple|from=umi.us_schl_dists.unified_geometry|border=black_1|colors=clear
If multiple layers are include in a map, they are specified in order from bottom to top (back to front), with each layer separated from the next by a slash ("/"). The following example shows a map definition made up of three overlaid layers: a thematic layer of median household income (from U.S. Census statistics), a simple layer of school district boundaries, and a simple layer of airport locations. As you can see, the properties to define depend on the type of layer (mode=simple, class, theme, etc.):
/mode=theme|select=umi.us_census00.stats.med_hhinc|from=umi.us_census00.tract_geometry|breaks=200000,400000,600000,800000,1000000|colors=FFFFFF80,0000FF80,00FF0080,FFA50080,FF000080/mode=simple|from=umi.us_schl_dists.unified_geometry|border=black_1|colors=clear/mode=simple|from=umi.ntad_airports.geometry|icons=icon_air_transportation_24x20.png