HTML5 is finally starting to show its capabilities. We’ve already talked about SublimeVideo and Sketchpad, two beautiful examples of what the future has in store for us. Today’s demo might not be as sexy as the others, but it’s worth a mention nevertheless as it could seriously revolutionize the way we see information on the web. I don’t know how old is this and if the developers are still working on it, but I haven’t found any reference anywhere so I decided to talk about it here.
It’s called Cartagen and it lets you make maps with a simple stylesheet. Let me embed a few quotes from the official website:
“Cartagen (http://cartagen.org) is a vector-based, client-side framework for rendering maps in native HTML 5. Written in JavaScript, it uses the new Canvas element to load mapping data from various sources, including OpenStreetMap.
Maps are styled with Geographic Style Sheets (GSS), a cascading stylesheet specification for geospatial information – a decision which leverages literacy in CSS to make map styling more accessible. However, GSS is a scripting language as well, making Cartagen an ideal framework for mapping.
Cartagen can display maps that change based on live data streams.
It also offers the possibility of rendering OpenStreetMap data which is not currently efficient with tile-based systems - such as authorship and time data. A simple but useful example is that Cartagen can show live OpenStreetMap data – in the sense that viewers see edits occurring in real time, with no rendering load on the server.”
Basically, it’s based on a stylesheet that supports geographical information and renders maps in HTML5. Maps can change according to live streams (news, updates, whatever you can think of) and the user can interact with them. Now, just sit down and let your imagination run wild: huge possibilities, reliability and support for the major desktop and mobile browsers. Very promising, though I know I’ll soon discover something better. That’s the beauty of progress.
