Projects on the Move
Projects on the Move
This month, we explore open source science projects. The young TileMill project is a powerful mapping tool for cartographers, HUBzero provides a platform for scientific collaboration, and the NASA-sponsored Virtual Microscope magnifies specimens without breaking any glass slides.
TileMill 0.4.1 [1], an open source MapBox project built on Mapnik, was released in August 2011 and is available for Mac OS X and Ubuntu. MapBox is a Development Seed [2] product that provides open source tools to create and host custom maps. "TileMill was built because we needed better tools for quickly designing beautiful maps with custom data," says Development Seed Developer Will White. "We kicked off development of TileMill at the beginning of 2011, and the first version was released on February 16th, 2011." White says that TileMill makes it easy to create highly customized, interactive maps for the web. "With TileMill, you design maps using Carto, a map styling language that looks just like CSS," White says. "TileMill allows you to export your finished maps as MBTiles files, which can be loaded into TileStream, an open source map server," he says.
TileMill’s detailed manual [3] will get you up and running after installation. The manual offers a primer on GIS, map projections, and coordinate systems and provides a tour of the TileMill interface. After launching TileMill in a browser (Figure 1), you will see several sample projects (Figure 2) and options to add a project or see the manual. If you open the Road Trip project (Figure 3), for example, you’ll see the toolbar, stylesheet editor, map preview, and a layers list. Here, you can adjust fonts or colors, zoom in or out, add new layers, and export the map. Clicking on the book tab in the top right-hand corner of the style sheet (shown in Figure 3) opens up a Carto reference menu (Figure 4).
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
New Steam Client Ups the Ante for Linux
The latest release from Steam has some pretty cool tricks up its sleeve.
-
Gnome OS Transitioning Toward a General-Purpose Distro
If you're looking for the perfectly vanilla take on the Gnome desktop, Gnome OS might be for you.
-
Fedora 41 Released with New Features
If you're a Fedora fan or just looking for a Linux distribution to help you migrate from Windows, Fedora 41 might be just the ticket.
-
AlmaLinux OS Kitten 10 Gives Power Users a Sneak Preview
If you're looking to kick the tires of AlmaLinux's upstream version, the developers have a purrfect solution.
-
Gnome 47.1 Released with a Few Fixes
The latest release of the Gnome desktop is all about fixing a few nagging issues and not about bringing new features into the mix.
-
System76 Unveils an Ampere-Powered Thelio Desktop
If you're looking for a new desktop system for developing autonomous driving and software-defined vehicle solutions. System76 has you covered.
-
VirtualBox 7.1.4 Includes Initial Support for Linux kernel 6.12
The latest version of VirtualBox has arrived and it not only adds initial support for kernel 6.12 but another feature that will make using the virtual machine tool much easier.
-
New Slimbook EVO with Raw AMD Ryzen Power
If you're looking for serious power in a 14" ultrabook that is powered by Linux, Slimbook has just the thing for you.
-
The Gnome Foundation Struggling to Stay Afloat
The foundation behind the Gnome desktop environment is having to go through some serious belt-tightening due to continued financial problems.
-
Thousands of Linux Servers Infected with Stealth Malware Since 2021
Perfctl is capable of remaining undetected, which makes it dangerous and hard to mitigate.