Core
The articles will guide you in working with landmarks and markers, providing a deeper understanding of predefined and user-defined points of interest, rich metadata, and dynamic annotations. Additionally, you'll learn how to integrate layered map data through overlays and create navigable routes for various use cases. Finally, you'll delve into real-time navigation system entities, capable of supporting turn-by-turn guidance and route simulation to enhance user experience.
📄️ Base entities
On this page, we present the simpler entities (coordinates, position, path, geographic areas), while in the following pages we cover the more complex ones (landmarks, markers, overlays, routes).
📄️ Positions
The GemPosition and GemImprovedPosition classes provide a representation of geographical and movement data for web-based location systems. They include details like coordinates, speed, altitude, direction, and accuracy derived from the browser's Geolocation API, along with road-related metadata such as speed limits and modifiers. With support for position quality assessment and timestamped data, they are well-suited for navigation applications.
📄️ Landmarks
A landmark is a predefined, permanent location that holds detailed information such as its name, address, description, geographic area, categories (e.g., Gas Station, Shopping), entrance locations, contact details, and sometimes associated multimedia (e.g., icons or images). It represents significant, categorized locations with rich metadata, providing structured context about a place.
📄️ Markers
A marker is a visual representation (such as an icon or a geometry, like a polyline or polygon) placed at a specific geographic location on a map to indicate an important point of interest, event, or location.
📄️ Overlays
An Overlay is an additional map layer, either default or user-defined, with data stored on Magic Lane servers, accessible in online and offline modes, with few exceptions.
📄️ Landmarks vs Markers vs Overlays
When building a sophisticated mapping application, choosing the right type of object to use for your specific needs is crucial. To assist in making an informed decision, we compare the three core mapping entities in the table below:
📄️ Routes
A Route usually represents a navigable path between two or more landmarks (waypoints). It includes data such as distance, estimated time, and navigation instructions.
📄️ Navigation instructions
The Maps SDK for TypeScript offers comprehensive real-time navigation guidance, providing detailed information on the current and upcoming route, including road details, street names, speed limits, and turn directions. It delivers essential data such as remaining travel time, distance to destination, and upcoming turn or road information, ensuring users receive accurate, timely instructions. Designed for both navigation and simulation scenarios, this feature enhances the overall user experience by supporting smooth and efficient route planning and execution.
📄️ Traffic Events
The Maps SDK for TypeScript provides real-time information about traffic events, such as delays, which can occur in various forms.