Summary
In this chapter, we have explored the Mapnik map-generation toolkit in depth. We learned the following:
- Mapnik is a powerful and flexible toolkit for generating a variety of maps
- Mapnik uses the painter's algorithm to draw the various parts of a map in the correct order
- A map is made up of multiple layers
- Map rendering is controlled using styles
- Styles are defined within the map and are referred to by the layers, allowing styles to be shared between map layers
- Each style consists of one or more rules
- Each rule has a list of symbolizers, telling Mapnik how to draw the layer's features onto the map, and an optional filter which selects the features the rule applies to
- You can use a map definition file as a simpler way of creating maps without having to define all the symbolizers, filters, rules, styles, and layers in Python
- You can use a map definition file as a stylesheet, separating the logic of building a map from the way it is formatted, in the same way that an HTML templating...
