[mkgmap-dev] [PATCH v2] - styling for the power user

Fri Aug 7 07:40:36 BST 2009

Hi Mark,

Am 06.08.2009 um 23:52 schrieb Mark Burton:

> I disagree.
>
> The patch simply provides a means for those people who have complex
> styling requirements to "roll their own" styling engine so they are  
> not
> obliged to use whatever is built into mkgmap. The presence of the  
> patch
> will not affect the development of the mkgmap styling system but by
> providing people with an alternative mechanism, it will encourage
> innovation and new thinking.
>
> One could argue that mkgmap would be better off having no styling
> function at all and it should focus on the core task of converting an
> input dataset (styled OSM) into map files (.img, etc.)

The problem here is that in the end you cannot separate the styling  
from the map conversion process. When I started using mkgmap I also  
used preprocessing. But then I found that my preprocessor had to  
duplicate a lot of the functionality of mkgmap to "do it right". For  
example finding all the ways that belong to a relation. It was much  
easier to patch mkgmap to get the same results, because all that  
information is already accessible there. But of course one could argue  
if this "convenience" is a reason in itself not to separate styling  
and map conversion.

>> Some thoughts about styling:
>> ...
>
> Well it's not what I would do.

Ok.

Regards
Thilo