[gdal-dev] Vector Tiles in OGR

Wed Feb 3 09:52:37 PST 2016

Blake,

Sorry for iterating: I checked the spec. and analyzed a sample of
Mapbox vector tiles:
The spec. does not mention null tiles but there are tiles generated by
Mapbox which are empty/null (to save space).
I seems to me that Mapbox GL JS then backs up and takes the data from
a tile at a predefined "upper" zoom level.
Can elaborate on this?

:Stefan

2016-02-02 7:46 GMT+01:00 Stefan Keller <sfkeller at gmail.com>:
> Blake,
>
> Thanks for the comments.
> Regarding leaving out data at intermediate zoom levels I also meant
> omitting (setting to null) the entire tile.
> In fact I just realize that the spec. even does not mention how a
> reader knows at which level it should expect data if a tile is
> null/empty.
>
> :Stefan
>
>
> 2016-02-02 2:18 GMT+01:00 Blake Thompson <flippmoke at gmail.com>:
>> Stefan,
>>
>> Consistent recognition of specific features can be done by proper use of the
>> id field in features:
>>
>> https://github.com/mapbox/vector-tile-spec/tree/master/2.1#42-features
>>
>> You can definitely leave out data at intermediate zooms if you wished, we
>> have considered this on many occasions at Mapbox. As far as the
>> specification is concerned currently, the vector tile itself purposefully
>> does not contain all the metadata necessary for this specific task. This is
>> mentioned directly in the specification that each tile does not contain
>> information about its projection or bounds. The Vector Tile Specification is
>> purposeful in this because it leaves others specifications or an
>> implementation to explicitly provide all the necessary information.
>>
>> I have considered that we could define a metafile to define all this
>> information explicitly, but for now as far as I am concerned the
>> specification just for the tiles is very young! We could make a decision on
>> this sort of implementation, but it could very well be better placed inside
>> another standard. I will not shy away from the fact that the specification
>> very well might change as time goes on and perhaps adding more things that
>> will more narrowly define it such things as projection and bounds. The needs
>> of those using the format will definitely provide influence on how it
>> changes.
>>
>> There currently is no indexing or listing of features within a layer, other
>> then the layer classes themselves. We could provide such a feature perhaps,
>> but currently it would likely just take more memory with out much benefit.
>> It is very quick for our decoder to iterate over features, and in general
>> processing of vector tile data is expected to be done in memory.
>>
>> Most client are only concerned about the vector tiles that are currently
>> within a "view". Therefore, if a feature is missing within a view it is
>> considered not to have that feature. However, this doesn't limit people from
>> doing analysis across a large number of tiles. At Mapbox we have used
>> map-reduce type solutions to process large number of tiles for different
>> projects:
>>
>> https://github.com/mapbox/tile-reduce
>>
>> The idea is that vector tiles themselves should be relatively small in size
>> in most situations. If you data becomes too dense you could put the data at
>> a higher zoom or provide an abstraction of features. The format itself is a
>> "lossy" format as you are putting your data in a projection that is unique
>> to the tile, so the format is not designed for situations where accuracy is
>> extremely important. If you need more accuracy you can increase the "extent"
>> of a layer, which adds more precision, but this could also increase the size
>> of your tiles.
>>
>> As far as the concerns with making a solid GDAL driver from vector tiles, I
>> am not certain what the solution should be honestly. I want to be here as a
>> reference to help something be grown, but I can't point at a great
>> implementation like this because we have not put into mapnik even yet "a
>> datasource of many vector tiles" as a plugin. We have left such operations
>> up to a large number of open source javascript libraries that can provide
>> things like caching etc. (See tilelive https://github.com/mapbox/tilelive/ )
>>
>> In a limited sense to think of Vector Tiles for Mapbox Tools in the same
>> sense you would think about WKB for PostGIS. It is not the entire solution
>> alone.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Blake Thompson
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 5:45 PM, Stefan Keller <sfkeller at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Blake,
>>>
>>> Now the vector tiles spec. and the Mapbox approach became clearer to me.
>>>
>>> I'm still pondering about realizing a vector tiles reader (especially
>>> for QGIS) and for vector tiles uses cases like 1. base maps and 2.
>>> spatial analysis:
>>>
>>> Regarding clipped linestrings and polygons arriving at reader, there
>>> seems to exist no hint (clipped) nor id mentioned in the spec. to help
>>> the reader merging them?
>>>
>>> While there's overzoom, what's about leaving out data in intermediate
>>> zoom levels to save space? Does the spec. regulate that and who's
>>> responsible for handling this: server or client?
>>>
>>> Finally and back to my implementation concerns: How should an
>>> interactive client deal occurring/disappearing feature classes in a
>>> single "layer"? Is it forced to read all features on all zoom levels
>>> in order to announce all feature classes?
>>>
>>> :Stefan
>>>
>>>
>>> 2016-02-02 1:03 GMT+01:00 Blake Thompson <flippmoke at gmail.com>:
>>> > Benjamin Stadin,
>>> >
>>> > As an author of the specification, I have to disagree with you on the
>>> > support for other projections. There is no limitation on vector tiles
>>> > being
>>> > required to being in mercator. The specification in fact mentions that
>>> > other
>>> > projections may be used:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > https://github.com/mapbox/vector-tile-spec/tree/master/2.1#3-projection-and-bounds
>>> >
>>> > While it is not accessible via the node-mapnik bindings, we do in fact
>>> > support encoding as different projections in mapnik-vector-tile. We have
>>> > implemented the decoder so that it could accept other projections, but
>>> > have
>>> > not added a mapnik datasource that would support them, but if there is
>>> > demand for such a thing we could do it.
>>> >
>>> > Your comments about the entire stack of Mapbox supporting mostly
>>> > mercator
>>> > could be very accurate, but this is not at all related to the Vector
>>> > Tile
>>> > Specification. We purposefully attempt to make our tools as
>>> > projection-less
>>> > as possible and hope that others find awesome ways to build upon the
>>> > standard.
>>> >
>>> > "But what data is shown at which zoom level is defined by the styling"
>>> > --
>>> > This is not true because you could make your data not even provide data
>>> > at
>>> > certain zoom levels. At Mapbox we do this quite often, street data is
>>> > never
>>> > included at very low zoom levels. Therefore, the style isn't the only
>>> > control here. In fact, I would encourage you to view styling and
>>> > rendering
>>> > of vector tiles as an entirely different topic.
>>> >
>>> > "There is enough interest from our side that we¹d be interested in
>>> > contributing (maybe monetary or with code, or both) to define and
>>> > implement
>>> > a better general purpose tile format." -- Any issues you might have with
>>> > the
>>> > Mapbox Vector Tile Specification or any ideas you might have with the
>>> > format
>>> > are very much welcome. We want to make sure the spec migrates for
>>> > community
>>> > needs. Please see
>>> > https://github.com/mapbox/vector-tile-spec/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
>>> > for
>>> > how you might help!
>>> >
>>> > Finally, I would like to stress that while Mapbox Vector Tiles were
>>> > designed
>>> > to be for rendering, it was well known during their design that they
>>> > could
>>> > be used for other applications. This was especially true when I was
>>> > writing
>>> > 2.0 of the specification as I tried to limit what would be considered
>>> > even
>>> > the most common uses of vector tiles.
>>> >
>>> > Thanks,
>>> >
>>> > Blake Thompson
>>> >
>>> > On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 4:27 PM, Stefan Keller <sfkeller at gmail.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> Hi Ben
>>> >>
>>> >> Thanks for explaining - Petr and I are the maintainers of
>>> >> OSM2Vectortiles.
>>> >> I like projections (and also GeoPackage :-) ).
>>> >> But reprojection is solved here, since OGR/QGIS can transform on the
>>> >> fly.
>>> >> This thread is about Petr's question about a reader "for mapbox-like
>>> >> vector tiles stored in MBTiles or downloaded from a url...".
>>> >>
>>> >> So I'd like to come back to the issue:
>>> >> 1. of a generic MVT decoder/enoder library (C++ or Python) => Blake?
>>> >> 2. and of a "feature provider" in an interactive environment (like
>>> >> QGIS) or a file/stream converter (like OGR) => anybody?
>>> >>
>>> >> :Stefan
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >> 2016-02-02 0:04 GMT+01:00 Stadin, Benjamin
>>> >> <Benjamin.Stadin at heidelberg-mobil.com>:
>>> >> > Hi Stefan,
>>> >> >
>>> >> > A vector tile may contain data for several zoom levels. But what data
>>> >> > is
>>> >> > shown at which zoom level is defined by the styling, not by the data
>>> >> > itself. It is handled on client side, by the web (or native) tile
>>> >> > renderer.
>>> >> >
>>> >> > The path is the same as with mercator tiles (zoomLevel/x/y):
>>> >> > https://example.com/17/65535/43602.mvt
>>> >> >
>>> >> >
>>> >> > The tile for zoom level 17 may contain features of class „building“,
>>> >> > and
>>> >> > the style definition may contain a rule that filters type „building“
>>> >> > for
>>> >> > zoomLevels <= 18.
>>> >> >
>>> >> > ~Ben
>>> >> >
>>> >> > Am 01.02.16, 20:16 schrieb "gdal-dev on behalf of Stefan Keller"
>>> >> > unter
>>> >> > <gdal-dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org on behalf of sfkeller at gmail.com>:
>>> >> >
>>> >> >>That's good news!
>>> >> >>We'll be happy to add Python bindings to such a generic C++ library
>>> >> >>for Mapbox vector tiles.
>>> >> >>We have still some time (say few weeks?) left here to decide to
>>> >> >>contribute either to these bindings or to Mapzen's pure Python lib.
>>> >> >>
>>> >> >>One reason why I'm insisting on Python (bindings) - besides easier
>>> >> >>testing with QGIS - is the following:
>>> >> >>AFAIK with vector tiles we have to deal with quite a new kind of
>>> >> >>feature provider:
>>> >> >>One which contains "zoom levels" and one which "suddenly" changes
>>> >> >>feature class at different zoom levels.
>>> >> >>If a client like QGIS consumes vector tiles from OGR in a one-shot
>>> >> >>call, how should the client deal with such "zoom level" dependent
>>> >> >>issues?
>>> >> >>So my thinking is, to consume only the most appropriate zoom level,
>>> >> >>probably only within current map canvas...
>>> >> >>
>>> >> >>:Stefan
>>> >> >>
>>> >> >>2016-02-01 18:27 GMT+01:00 Flippmoke <flippmoke at gmail.com>:
>>> >> >>>
>>> >> >>> Stefan,
>>> >> >>>
>>> >> >>> I am not aware of any libraries besides mapnik vector tile that
>>> >> >>> have
>>> >> >>>been attempting to implement v2 specification. I think mapzen's
>>> >> >>>implementation might be best? We have been wanting to add vector
>>> >> >>> tiles
>>> >> >>>to the python mapnik bindings for quite some time but we don't have
>>> >> >>> the
>>> >> >>>time to do it right now.
>>> >> >>>
>>> >> >>> I will try to think this week about how we could make a generic C++
>>> >> >>>library quickly for Mapbox vector tiles.
>>> >> >>>
>>> >> >>> Thanks,
>>> >> >>>
>>> >> >>> Blake Thompson
>>> >> >>>
>>> >> >>>> On Feb 1, 2016, at 1:06 AM, Stefan Keller <sfkeller at gmail.com>
>>> >> >>>> wrote:
>>> >> >>>>
>>> >> >>>> Hi Blake
>>> >> >>>>
>>> >> >>>> It's clear to me that a good generic c++ library for encoding and
>>> >> >>>> decoding vector tiles is needed.
>>> >> >>>> On the other hand, I'd like to experiment with vector tiles and
>>> >> >>>> related QGIS parallel loading issues for which Python is more
>>> >> >>>> convenient.
>>> >> >>>>
>>> >> >>>> It seems that Mapzen's [1] Python implementation is further along.
>>> >> >>>> Or do you know if Jesse (or somebody) is still working on Mapbox's
>>> >> >>>>variant [2] ?
>>> >> >>>>
>>> >> >>>> :Stefan
>>> >> >>>>
>>> >> >>>> [1] https://github.com/mapzen/mapbox-vector-tile
>>> >> >>>> [2] https://github.com/mapbox/vector-tile-py
>>> >> >>>>
>>> >> >>>>
>>> >> >>>> 2016-01-31 23:22 GMT+01:00 Flippmoke <flippmoke at gmail.com>:
>>> >> >>>>> All,
>>> >> >>>>>
>>> >> >>>>> The first thing that is going to be required likely is a good
>>> >> >>>>> generic
>>> >> >>>>>c++ library for encoding and decoding vector tiles IMO.
>>> >> >>>>>
>>> >> >>>>> I have spent a lot of time working on developing the mapnik
>>> >> >>>>> vector
>>> >> >>>>>tile library to be a solid implementation, especially around all
>>> >> >>>>> the
>>> >> >>>>>work done for 2.0 of Mapbox vector tile specification. I would
>>> >> >>>>> love
>>> >> >>>>> to
>>> >> >>>>>eventually help make this a generalized implementation so that it
>>> >> >>>>> is
>>> >> >>>>>portable to a library like GDAL.
>>> >> >>>>>
>>> >> >>>>> We have talked about doing something like this at Mapbox but will
>>> >> >>>>>require a good deal of time, so it hasn't been pushed forward yet.
>>> >> >>>>> The
>>> >> >>>>>other issues that come to mind to me is that some of the libraries
>>> >> >>>>>that mapnik vector tile depends upon most likely need good custom
>>> >> >>>>>implementations if we wanted to make it more generic.
>>> >> >>>>>
>>> >> >>>>> The reason for this is that I would prefer for it to be a header
>>> >> >>>>> only
>>> >> >>>>>library with no dependencies. Adding more dependencies for GDAL
>>> >> >>>>> seems
>>> >> >>>>>like it could be a mess.
>>> >> >>>>>
>>> >> >>>>> Blake Thompson
>>> >> >>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>> On Jan 31, 2016, at 10:10 AM, Stefan Keller <sfkeller at gmail.com>
>>> >> >>>>>>wrote:
>>> >> >>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>> Hi Petr, Blake, Even and everybody
>>> >> >>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>> I'm (besides Petr) the other maintainer of OSM2VectorTiles.
>>> >> >>>>>> I'd already asked Even a similar question.
>>> >> >>>>>> I'm advising now an intern to implement such a MVT Vector Tiles
>>> >> >>>>>>reader
>>> >> >>>>>> client in Python if possible as part of a QGIS plugin.
>>> >> >>>>>> And I'm interested not to do redundant implementations.
>>> >> >>>>>> Are there any news on this matter?
>>> >> >>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>> :Stefan
>>> >> >>>>>> Prof. at HSR and leader of Geometa Lab
>>> >> >>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>> @Even: Regarding OGR MVT development can you send to me
>>> >> >>>>>> (directly)
>>> >> >>>>>> a
>>> >> >>>>>> contact name of the group which won the bidding?
>>> >> >>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>> 2016-01-06 15:24 GMT+01:00 Petr Pridal
>>> >> >>>>>> <petr.pridal at klokantech.com>:
>>> >> >>>>>>> Hi everybody,
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> thanks for the comments. Regarding the technical details:
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>> Each Tile is its own discrete dataset therefore the hardest
>>> >> >>>>>>>> part
>>> >> >>>>>>>>would be
>>> >> >>>>>>>> merging of features into the original features across tiles.
>>> >> >>>>>>>> You
>>> >> >>>>>>>>could use
>>> >> >>>>>>>> some complicated merging technique, but that could be very
>>> >> >>>>>>>>expensive.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> The driver could require "id" parameter, which specifies name
>>> >> >>>>>>> of
>>> >> >>>>>>> an
>>> >> >>>>>>> attribute with unique identifier on the features shared across
>>> >> >>>>>>> the
>>> >> >>>>>>>tiles.
>>> >> >>>>>>> Both MapBox vector tiles and OSM2VectorTiles tiles have an
>>> >> >>>>>>> unique
>>> >> >>>>>>>non-zero
>>> >> >>>>>>> "osm_id" in place. The first version of driver could read only
>>> >> >>>>>>>features with
>>> >> >>>>>>> such ID. The identifier does not have to be always filled, but
>>> >> >>>>>>>often it is,
>>> >> >>>>>>> especially in deeper zoom levels derived purely from
>>> >> >>>>>>> OpenStreetMap
>>> >> >>>>>>>- but
>>> >> >>>>>>> yeh, a completely general stitching would be much harder.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> The clipping + merging of shapes itself can be implemented with
>>> >> >>>>>>>underlaying
>>> >> >>>>>>> GEOS library functions.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> BTW It is possible to examine vector tiles data in pure
>>> >> >>>>>>> JavaScript
>>> >> >>>>>>>X-Ray
>>> >> >>>>>>> viewer (no WebGL support on browser required) made in
>>> >> >>>>>>> OpenLayers3:
>>> >> >>>>>>> http://klokantech.github.io/ol3-sandbox/vector/xray.html
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> or with WebGL-enabled webbrowser with higher performance MapBox
>>> >> >>>>>>> GL
>>> >> >>>>>>>JS
>>> >> >>>>>>> powered X-Ray:
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> http://klokantech.github.io/mapbox-gl-js-offline-example/xray.html
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> A debug viewer for each vector tile (made in OL3) decoded in
>>> >> >>>>>>> pure
>>> >> >>>>>>> JavaScript:
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> http://klokantech.github.io/ol3-sandbox/vector/tile-inspector.html
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> The OGR driver could be also practical for the unsimplified /
>>> >> >>>>>>>ungeneralised
>>> >> >>>>>>> MBTiles with OSM data available at:
>>> >> >>>>>>>http://osmlab.github.io/osm-qa-tiles/
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>> If you wanted to simply view vector tile data it could get
>>> >> >>>>>>>>confusing as
>>> >> >>>>>>>> well since most vector tiles need a buffer when they are used
>>> >> >>>>>>>> for
>>> >> >>>>>>>> visualization programs. This is important for things like
>>> >> >>>>>>>> labeling
>>> >> >>>>>>>>on maps
>>> >> >>>>>>>> etc. Therefore, you could get a large amount of overlapping
>>> >> >>>>>>>> data
>>> >> >>>>>>>>on tiles if
>>> >> >>>>>>>> you loaded them all in at once.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Clipping on border of each tile must be applied before
>>> >> >>>>>>> stitching
>>> >> >>>>>>>the vector
>>> >> >>>>>>> features together  - so the buffer is removed. Buffer is there
>>> >> >>>>>>> only
>>> >> >>>>>>>for
>>> >> >>>>>>> visualisation and labeling.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>> As far as writing a simple decoder -- the mapnik-vector-tile
>>> >> >>>>>>>>decoder isn't
>>> >> >>>>>>>> currently able to decode vector tiles into a form not
>>> >> >>>>>>>> supported
>>> >> >>>>>>>> by
>>> >> >>>>>>>>mapnik.
>>> >> >>>>>>>> Therefore, OGR would not be able to easily use this.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Correct. It can't be used directly (GDAL can't link against),
>>> >> >>>>>>> but
>>> >> >>>>>>>the
>>> >> >>>>>>> relevant code can be extracted and reused directly. For basic
>>> >> >>>>>>>decoding
>>> >> >>>>>>> critical is the Protobuf library (which is already in GDAL) and
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >>
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>https://github.com/mapbox/mapnik-vector-tile/blob/master/proto/vector
>>> >> >>>>>>>_tile.proto
>>> >> >>>>>>> + the code for converting pixel coordinates in features to
>>> >> >>>>>>> relevant
>>> >> >>>>>>>geo
>>> >> >>>>>>> coordinates and GEOS-based merging of features.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>> We plan to write a generalized encoder and decoder eventually
>>> >> >>>>>>>> so
>>> >> >>>>>>>>that any
>>> >> >>>>>>>> other library can plugin with out the mapnik requirement.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> This would be amazing.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>> If you have any questions specifically about Mapnik Vector
>>> >> >>>>>>>> Tile
>>> >> >>>>>>>> or
>>> >> >>>>>>>>the
>>> >> >>>>>>>> Mapbox Vector Tile Specification feel free to ask me. I would
>>> >> >>>>>>>> note
>>> >> >>>>>>>>that you
>>> >> >>>>>>>> guys will want to update your vector tiles once the V2
>>> >> >>>>>>>>specification changes
>>> >> >>>>>>>> are into Mapnik-Vector-Tile.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Cool! Thanks. Our world tiles are generated via Docker
>>> >> >>>>>>> containers
>>> >> >>>>>>>on a
>>> >> >>>>>>> cluster of computers - using Mapnik via Tilelive directly - so
>>> >> >>>>>>>upgrades on
>>> >> >>>>>>> Mapnik-Vector-Tile will propagate to the open-source rendering
>>> >> >>>>>>>software.
>>> >> >>>>>>> I expect V2 spec will mean also new MapBox Streets V7, right?
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>> I see you mention MVT in MBTiles. Is it a recognized practice
>>> >> >>>>>>>> ? I
>>> >> >>>>>>>>don't
>>> >> >>>>>>>> see
>>> >> >>>>>>>> mention of that neither in the MVT spec (
>>> >> >>>>>>>> https://github.com/mapbox/vector-
>>> >> >>>>>>>> tile-spec/tree/master/2.0 ) nor the MBTiles one (
>>> >> >>>>>>>> https://github.com/mapbox/mbtiles-spec/blob/master/1.2/spec.md
>>> >> >>>>>>>> ),
>>> >> >>>>>>>>although
>>> >> >>>>>>>> I
>>> >> >>>>>>>> guess it is just a matter of storing a MVT blob in the
>>> >> >>>>>>>> tile_data
>>> >> >>>>>>>>column.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Yes. MapBox Studio Classic generates such MBTiles with Vector
>>> >> >>>>>>> Tiles
>>> >> >>>>>>>inside -
>>> >> >>>>>>> and Mapnik reads them directly when rasterising. Storing the
>>> >> >>>>>>> vector
>>> >> >>>>>>>tiles in
>>> >> >>>>>>> SQLite make sense - and it simplifies deployment, and you can
>>> >> >>>>>>> then
>>> >> >>>>>>>easily
>>> >> >>>>>>> have complete world on each node of a cluster of tileservers.
>>> >> >>>>>>> If
>>> >> >>>>>>>you don't
>>> >> >>>>>>> want to upgrade your base map too often, this approach is
>>> >> >>>>>>> pretty
>>> >> >>>>>>>efficient
>>> >> >>>>>>> and removes the centralised database as typical bottleneck.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> I did some tests on vector tiles vs raster in MBTiles and
>>> >> >>>>>>>documented these
>>> >> >>>>>>> in README.md at and
>>> >> >>>>>>>https://github.com/klokantech/vector-tiles-sample before
>>> >> >>>>>>> we started to work on OSM2VectorTiles project.
>>> >> >>>>>>> There are also sample data and offline MapBox GL JS viewer in
>>> >> >>>>>>> that
>>> >> >>>>>>>repo.
>>> >> >>>>>>> Vector tiles can be hosted also "unpacked", just as files in
>>> >> >>>>>>>folders on a
>>> >> >>>>>>> standard web server - exactly like GDAL2Tiles or MapTiler.com
>>> >> >>>>>>> does
>>> >> >>>>>>>by
>>> >> >>>>>>> default for raster tiles.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> If OGR driver is implemented, the primary source should be
>>> >> >>>>>>> probably
>>> >> >>>>>>>reading
>>> >> >>>>>>> from an URL via curl.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Reading PBFs from an MBTiles (or another SQLite) is just the
>>> >> >>>>>>> most
>>> >> >>>>>>>practical
>>> >> >>>>>>> portable alternative to it.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Technically people may store the tiles in different ways - for
>>> >> >>>>>>>example
>>> >> >>>>>>> Wikimedia guys (http://maps.wikimedia.org/ and
>>> >> >>>>>>> https://github.com/kartotherian/) use Cassandra for tile
>>> >> >>>>>>> storage,
>>> >> >>>>>>> I
>>> >> >>>>>>>guess
>>> >> >>>>>>> MapBox internally is also on a different storage for production
>>> >> >>>>>>>servers ...
>>> >> >>>>>>> for transfers and streaming tilesets there is the  - but tiles
>>> >> >>>>>>> are
>>> >> >>>>>>>ALWAYS
>>> >> >>>>>>> exposed via HTTP.
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Regards,
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Petr
>>> >> >>>>>>> --
>>> >> >>>>>>> Petr Pridal, Ph.D.
>>> >> >>>>>>> CEO
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> Klokan Technologies GmbH
>>> >> >>>>>>> Hofnerstrasse 98, 6314 Unterageri, Switzerland
>>> >> >>>>>>> Tel: +41 (0)41 511 26 12
>>> >> >>>>>>> Email: info at klokantech.com
>>> >> >>>>>>> Web: http://www.klokantech.com/
>>> >> >>>>>>>
>>> >> >>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>> >> >>>>>>> gdal-dev mailing list
>>> >> >>>>>>> gdal-dev at lists.osgeo.org
>>> >> >>>>>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/gdal-dev
>>> >> >>_______________________________________________
>>> >> >>gdal-dev mailing list
>>> >> >>gdal-dev at lists.osgeo.org
>>> >> >>http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/gdal-dev
>>> >> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>
>>