[mkgmap-dev] generating custom maps (stylesheet or typ files)

Wed May 27 15:47:55 BST 2009

On Tue, May 26, 2009 at 10:18 PM, Marko Mäkelä <marko.makela at iki.fi> wrote:

> Are there any freely distributable TYP files that could be used as a starting
> point?  I understood that TYP files can only be created with closed-source
> Windows programs

You will note that the online TYP editor I mentioned above has Perl
source code available with a BSD license:

http://ati.land.cz/gps/typdecomp/

> I would like to contribute
> to a common TYP file in some way: writing translations, suggesting custom
> POI types (e.g., shop=bicycle, amenity=recycling), and so on.  The preferred
> format for editing would be text, and the textual source of the TYP file
> would live in some public svn repository.  Does that sound doable?

To set this up in a multiple platform/open source environment would
require extensive modification of the above Perl code, or a new
implementation of it in another language (Java? Python?). If you or
someone has lots of time available, this would be a worthy project.
:-)

If you were to work directly with the binary TYP file, you could
repeatedly edit it using the online editor:

http://ati.land.cz/gps/typdecomp/editor.cgi

To keep the text up to date, you could also decompile the TYP file
from the above site.

> Which ones would you recommend?

I started experimenting with the TYP file created by Carsten Schwede:
it it quite comprehensive. I then created a more minimal file from
scratch, with the intention of getting a map that displays quickly and
can be reasonably used both for motorized and non-motorized transport.

If you are interested, I could send you my TYP file and my style files
directly by e-mail. (I do not have a Web presence where I could
otherwise post these items.)

Cheers.