The State of Mapping APIs, 5 Years On

macslocum writes "Map APIs took off in 2005, and during the ensuing years the whole notion of maps has changed. Where once they were slick add-ons, map functionality is now a necessary — and expected — tool. In this piece, Adam DuVander looks at the current state of mapping and he explains how mobile devices, third-party services and ease of use are shaping the map development world."

The old Guard from my perspective

[stimpleton]

I did a post grad degree in GIS finishing 2003 haveing done IS degree before then. We used professional map tools for analytical work and presentation.

Two things stood out in the culture of GIS:

- A non importance of solid data handling and storage. Flat files were the order of the day.
- Antialiasing was not prevalent. While not required for anayltical work, in presentation it was, but many big name tools did not make the jump. 8 bit was common.
- Presentation was done by govt depts and were fairly snazzy for the day, in 8bit alisaed glory

Now we see were we are today, and its all to do with the fact non mapping companies have got involved without the hangups of the old GIS attitudes from govt depts, universities, and the big name tool vendors influencing them. Companies like MS, Google, have presented maps and GIS so superior to the traditional industry, that even Depts Lands, Mapping and Survey(or whatever called in your country) are resorting to Google maps.

We now have depts of GIS professionals along with proprietry vendor tools being trounced by private enterprise.

Re:Google the first? Not really...

[symbolset]

You guys make some neat stuff, but the license keeps it away from us.

Licenses?

[SnapShot]

What I want is a blog post that actually explains all the various mapping licenses. Preferably in a simple table format. I don't like to read.

Re:Google the first? Not really...

[grcumb]

You think Arc is "steaming pile of 'software'"? I've tried a few of the free alternatives (QGIS, MapWindow, Thuban), and, while ambitious projects, they don't come anywhere close to Arc. Can you suggest something better?

MS Word is better and more feature-ful than the competition, but that doesn't mean it's not a steaming pile [imagicity.com]. The two categories are not mutually exclusive.