What is Mapbox?

Mapbox is a robust Geospatial Software As A Service (saas) for developers, and includes products such as toolkits for mobile app development, navigation, web maps, and data management. Mapbox’s service model is based on a paid subscription, but they offer a free service tier for those interested in using Mapbox products for learning. Today’s workshop will use these free services but you don’t need to create an account. An access token will be provided for you. If this is your first time hearing about Mapbox, How Mapbox Works provides a great introduction.

Mapbox Services

Mapbox JS Classic

Mapbox JS Classic is the classic JS library based on Leaflet.js. This product is no longer being actively developed, but is still a good resource for learning, especially the examples.

Mapbox GL JS

Mapbox GL JS is the vector tile framework replacing the Classic JS. Examples of use are immensely helpful for tinkering around in order to understand how it works. This workshop focuses on designing maps for web display using Mapbox GL JS.

Mapbox Studio

For those interested in customizing data and tiles, Mapbox Studio is for you. The Studio Manual and how-to videos are excellent starting points for learning.

Mobile app developers may find the Navigation SDK (for iOS, and Android), and Maps SDK (for iOS, Andriod, and Unity) most useful.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)

Mapbox also provides APIs for programmatic access to their maps, navigation, and geocoding services.