A web map is an interactive display of geographic information, in the form of a web page, that you can use to tell stories and answer questions. Web maps have numerous advantages over traditional mapping techniques, such as the ability to display up-to-date or even real-time information, easy distribution to end users, and highly customized interactive content. Introduction to Web Mapping teaches you how to develop online interactive web maps and web mapping applications, using standard web technologies: HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The core technologies are introduced in Chapters 1-5, focusing on the specific aspects which are most relevant to web mapping. Chapters 6-13 then implement the material and demonstrate key concepts for building and publishing interactive web maps.
The book:
- Gives an introduction to fundamental web technologies: HTML, CSS and JavaScript
- Covers Leaflet, the popular open-source JavaScript library for building web maps
- Describes the GeoJSON vector layer format and the Ajax technique for loading data
- Shows how spatial database APIs, such as the CARTO platform, can be combined with a web map to query and display large amounts of data
- Introduces client-side geoprocessing with the Turf.js JavaScript library, for applying spatial operators in the browser
- Demonstrates a complex web mapping application for collecting crowdsourced data, combining Leaflet, CARTO and the Leaflet.draw plugin
- Goes over 69 complete code examples and includes 9 solved exercises for building web maps and web pages (downloadable code is provided in the online supplement)
The book is intended for beginners with no background in web technologies or programming. Nevertheless, some prior experience with computers and programming is beneficial. The book can be used for self-study, or as a textbook in a standard undergraduate "Web mapping" course in a Geography department, intended for students specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Michael Dorman is a programmer (since 2016) and lecturer (since 2013) at the Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is working with researchers and students of the Department in developing computational workflows such as data processing, spatial analysis, geostatistics, development of web applications and web maps, etc., mostly through programming in R, JavaScript and Python. In 2018, he developed and taught a course named Intruduction to JavaScript for Web Mapping, introducing web technologies and web mapping to undergraduate Geography students specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The course materials served as a foundation for this book. Michael holds a Ph.D. in Geography and a M.Sc. in Life Sciences from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and a B.Sc. in Plant Sciences in Agriculture from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He previously published the book Learning R for Geospatial Analysis (Packt Publishing, 2014) and authored or coauthored 24 papers in the scientific literature.
