A comprehensive list of webmapping toolkits

The goal of this list is to provide basic information about each webmapping toolkit, including:

• description: from toolkit website
• License
• supported Map engines and/or protocols
• Developer language(s): which programming language(s) webmapping developers might worry?

CartoWeb

CartoWeb is a comprehensive and ready-to-use Web-GIS (Geographical Information System) as well as a convenient framework for building advanced and customized applications.

L: GPL
M: MapServer 
D: PHP

Chameleon

Chameleon is a distributed, highly configurable, environment for developing Web Mapping applications. It is built on MapServer as the core mapping engine and works with all MapServer supported data formats through a regular MAP file.

L: Open Source
M: MapServer, WMS
D: PHP

collective.geo (Plone Maps)

The goal is to provide a comprehensive set of tools to manage and publish geospatial data into Plone CMS, using existing and proven technologies as much as possible.

L: GPL
M: (see OpenLayers, Polymaps)
D: Python, JavaScript

dbox

dbox is really a collection of DHTML-based libraries for building highly interactive web-based mapping applications. The tools are meant to work directly with the MapServer web mapping system. They provide relatively autonomous functionality without restricting overall design. In fact, they were designed to be used with old fashioned elements like tables.

L: Open Source
M: MapServer
D: JavaScript, DHTML

Dracones

Dracones is a MapServer-based web mapping framework. Core components: A lightweight map widget, with a smooth navigation interface; Map layers with interactive behaviors, like mouse selection or tooltip (mouseover) information; Flexible query/extension mechanism; Handy other services like map image export, and history navigation

L: BSD
M: MapServer, WMS
D: PHP, Python

Fusion

Fusion is a web-mapping application development framework for MapGuide OS and MapServer built primarily in JavaScript. It allows non-spatial web developers to build rich mapping applications quickly and easily.

L: MIT
M: MapServer, MapGuide OS
D: PHP

GeoBIExt

A rich client visualization framework for SOLAP data, using GeoExt/OpenLayers as the web mapping front-end. It enables the creation of drillable and interactive geo-analytical dashboards or more static reports, which allow the analyze of data through different representations (maps, charts and cross-tabs) and levels of detail in order to take more informed and hence better decisions.

L: ? 
M: (see OpenLayers)
D: Java

GeoExt

GeoExt brings together the geospatial know how of OpenLayers with the user interface savvy of Ext JS to help you build powerful desktop style GIS apps on the web with JavaScript.

L: BSD
M: (see OpenLayers)
D: JavaScript

geojsp

geojsp is an open source (GPL) component that integrates geographic elements in your business intelligence infrastructure (geo-BI): thematic maps; flow maps; indicators; graphics (bar charts, pie chart, etc.)

L: GPL
M: (see OpenLayers)
D: Java

GeoMondrian

GeoMondrian is a spatially-enabled version of Pentaho Analysis Services (Mondrian). It provides a consistent integration of spatial objects into the OLAP data cube structure, instead of fetching them from a separate spatial database, web service or GIS file.

L: EPL
M: (see OpenLayers)
D: Java

GeoMOOSE

GeoMOOSE is a Web Client Javascript Framework for displaying distributed cartographic data. GeoMOOSE has a number of strengths including modularity, configurability, and delivers a number of core functionalities in its packages.

L: MIT
M: MapServer, (see OpenLayers)
D: JavaScript, PHP

GeoPrisma

?

L: Open Source
M: (see OpenLayers)
D: ?

GeoReport

An interactive decision-support tool, providing a WebGIS OGC compliant interface, supported by analysis and reporting tools of external BI platforms. At present, GeoReport supports PentahoBI and SpagoBI.

L: LGPL
M: ?
D: ?

GeoShield

GeoShield is a project born to offer a centralized way to define security access-control to geo-services. It acts like a proxy, intercepting all the communications between clients and OGC compliant services

L: BSD
M: GeoServer, WMS, WFS, WPS, SOS
D: Java

GeoWebCache

GeoWebCache is a Java web application used to cache map tiles coming from a variety of sources such as OGC Web Map Service (WMS). It implements various service interfaces (such as WMS-C, WMTS, TMS, Google Maps KML, Virtual Earth) in order to accelerate and optimize map image delivery. It can also recombine tiles to work with regular WMS clients.

L: LGPL
M: WMS, WMS-C, TMS, WMTS
D: Java

HSLayers

HSLayers combines OpenLayers (for mapping part) and ExtJS (for the graphical user interface) for complete desktop-like WebGIS toolkit in JavaScript. It also has several server-side little script for support of the web interface.

L: GPL
M: (see OpenLayers), MapServer, WMSed (rasterized) WCS and WFS
D: JavaScript, Python

i3geo

i3geo provides a set of navigation tools, generation of analysis, sharing and generation of maps on demand.

L: GPL
M: MapServer
D: PHP, JavaScript

InteProxy

InteProxy is a tool that adds secure transmission via SSL as well as user authentication to those OWS-based applications that do not support these security features.

L: GPL
M: WMS, WFS
D: Python

ka-Map

ka-Map is an open source project that is aimed at providing a javascript API for developing highly interactive web-mapping interfaces using features available in modern web browsers.

L: Open Source
M: MapServer
D: PHP, JavaScript

leaflet

Leaflet is a modern, lightweight JavaScript library for making tile-based interactive maps for both desktop and mobile web browsers.

L: BSD
M: tiled layers, WMS
D: JavaScript

Mapbender

Mapbender is the back office software and client framework for spatial data infrastructures. It provides a data model and web based interfaces for displaying, navigating and querying OGC compliant map services.

L: GPL, BSD
M: WMS, WFS
D: PHP, JavaScript

MapBuilder

MapBuilder is a powerful, standards compliant geographic mapping client which runs in a web browser.

L: LGPL
M: WMS, WFS
D: JavaScript

MapFaces

MapFaces is a JSF framework for mapping. This framework is implemented on top of GeotoolKit.org library, the reference implementation of OGC GeoAPI. Its main difference with other frameworks is the support of the on-the-fly reprojection for services like WMS, WMTS, TMS and others.

L: LGPL3
M: WMS, CSW + (all OpenLayers formats)
D: Java, JavaScript

MapFish

MapFish is a flexible and complete framework for building rich web-mapping applications. It emphasizes high productivity, and high-quality development.

L: BSD
M: WMS, WFS
D: Python, JavaScript

MapProxy

It caches, accelerates and transforms data from existing map services and serves any desktop or web GIS client. MapProxy is a tile cache solution, but also offers many new and innovative features like full support for WMS clients.

L: ASL
M: WMS, TMS
D: Python

MapQuery

MapQuery is a jQuery plugin that you can use to add mapping to your website. Whether you quickly want to add a simple map to a page, or build a feature rich web application, MapQuery is just the thing you need.

L: MIT
M: (see OpenLayers)
D: JavaScript

Modest Maps

Modest Maps is a small, extensible, and free library for designers and developers who want to use interactive maps in their own projects. It provides a core set of features in a tight, clean package with plenty of hooks for additional functionality

L: BSD
M: ?
D: JavaScript

msCross

msCross is a AJAX (WEB 2.0) WEB GIS client, initially developed to be a Javascript interface for UMN Mapserver. It was developed to allow users dinamically display geographical information layers on the web.

L: GPL
M: MapServer
D: JavaScript

OpenLayers

OpenLayers makes it easy to put a dynamic map in any web page. It can display map tiles and markers loaded from any source. OpenLayers has been developed to further the use of geographic information of all kinds.

L: 2-clause BSD License
M: ArcGIS Server, GML, Google Maps, KML, MapGuide, MapServer, TMS, Bing Maps, WFS, WMS and more!
D: JavaScript

Studio

Admin tool for MapServer. Studio allows the web administrator to manage the geodata, to stylize them with a wysiwyg MapFile editor and to create a custom thematisation. Studio allows to edit MapServer Mapfiles, using an easy-to-use web-based interface.

L: GPL
M: (see OpenLayers)
D: Python

OpenScales

OpenScales is an open source (LGPL) mapping framework written in ActionScript 3 and Flex that enables developers to build Rich Internet Mapping Applications.

L: LGPL
M: GML, KML, OSM, TMS, WFS, WMS and others.
D: ActionScript, Flex, AIR

p.mapper

The p.mapper framework is intended to offer broad functionality and multiple configurations in order to facilitate the setup of a MapServer application based on PHP/MapScript.

L: Open Source
M: MapServer
D: JavaScript, PHP

Polymaps

Polymaps is a free JavaScript library for making dynamic, interactive maps in modern web browsers. It provides speedy display of multi-zoom datasets over maps, and supports a variety of visual presentations for tiled vector data, in addition to the usual cartography from OpenStreetMap, CloudMade, Bing, and other providers of image-based web maps.

L: Open Source
M: Bing Maps, Cloudmade, OSM
D: JavaScript

SOLAPLayers

SOLAPLayers is a lightweight web cartographic component which enables navigation in SOLAP data cubes. It aims to be integrated into existing dashboard frameworks in order to produce interactive geo-analytical dashboards.

L: BSD, EPL
M: (see OpenLayers)
D: Java

tile5

Tile5 is an opensource HTML5 mapping javascript library that gives developers the ability to use existing mapping engines and provide a rich HTML5 experience. Tile5 can also be used to create more generic HTML5 tiling interfaces.

L: MIT
M: Bing Maps, Cloudmade, OSM and others.
D: JavaScript

TileCache

TileCache provides a Python-based WMS-C/TMS server, with pluggable caching mechanisms and rendering backends. In the simplest use case, TileCache requires only write access to a disk, the ability to run Python CGI scripts, and a WMS you want to be cached.

L: BSD
M: Mapnik, MapServer, WMS
D: Python

TileMill

TileMill is an application for making beautiful maps. Whether you're a journalist, web designer, researcher, or seasoned cartographer, TileMill is the design studio you need to create compelling, interactive maps.

L: BSD
M: Mapnik
D: CSS-like map styling language

Thematic Mapping Engine

TME enables you to visualise global statistics on Google Earth. The engine returns a KMZ file that you can open in Google Earth or download to your computer.

L: GPL
M: KML
D: JavaScript, PHP