Ordnance Survey has made itsWeb 2.0platformOS
OpenSpaceavailable to all developers,
following a successful closed launch last December.
OS OpenSpace is a free service that allows users to build
mash-ups of Ordnance Survey mapping in scales ranging from the
whole of Great Britain down to street level.
The OS OpenSpace application programming interface (API) had
been undergoing testing by a dedicated set of developers since a
"closed alpha" launch on 14 December.
Since then, 12 developers have put data from OS OpenSpace on the
internet. The service is now available to anyone wanting to develop
experimental applications on the web using Ordnance Survey
mapping.
The government minister responsible for Ordnance Survey, Iain
Wright, said, "In launching OS OpenSpace, Ordnance Survey is taking
a lead in providing greater access to public information. The
launch will allow others to innovate using geographic information,
with confidence in the national consistency and currency of the
data they use."
Anyone who
registers
at the OS OpenSpace website can access as many as 30,000
"tiles" or extracts of data and perform as many as 1,000 place-name
look-ups a day.
Users can add markers, lines and polygons on top of Ordnance
Survey mapping, search for place names with a gazetteer and display
other location data from elsewhere on the web.
The platform is a JavaScript API that uses "slippy map"
technology, so users can grab and move images in different
directions. As well as the API itself, OS OpenSpace will include a
community website so developers can discuss, review and collaborate
on projects.