Tileverse Vector Tiles¶

Encoding and decoding Mapbox Vector Tiles (MVT) in Java.

Overview¶

Tileverse Vector Tiles is a Java library for working with Mapbox Vector Tiles (MVT), a compact binary format for storing and transmitting vector data in tiles. The library provides efficient encoding and decoding of MVT data, with full support for the MVT specification.

What are Vector Tiles?¶

Vector tiles are a method of delivering map data where the geometry is transmitted as vectors (points, lines, polygons) rather than pre-rendered images. This provides several advantages:

• Smaller file sizes: Vector data is more compact than raster images
• Dynamic styling: Style vector data on the client side
• Better scalability: Adapt to different screen resolutions
• Interactive features: Query and interact with individual features
• Efficient updates: Update styling without re-generating tiles

Features¶

• MVT format encoding/decoding: Full support for Mapbox Vector Tiles v2 specification
• Protocol Buffers: Efficient binary serialization
• Geometry transformations: Convert between coordinate systems
• Layer and feature manipulation: Work with MVT structure programmatically
• JTS integration: Use familiar JTS Geometry types
• High performance: Optimized for server-side tile generation

Quick Start¶

Decoding Vector Tiles¶

import io.tileverse.vectortile.mvt.VectorTileCodec;
import io.tileverse.vectortile.model.VectorTile;
import org.locationtech.jts.geom.Geometry;

// Create a codec
VectorTileCodec codec = VectorTileCodec.getDefault();

// Decode MVT bytes
byte[] mvtBytes = ...; // from file, network, PMTiles, etc.
VectorTile tile = codec.decode(mvtBytes);

// Access layers
for (VectorTile.Layer layer : tile.getLayers()) {
    System.out.printf("Layer: %s (%d features)%n",
        layer.getName(), layer.getFeatures().size());

    // Access features
    for (VectorTile.Layer.Feature feature : layer.getFeatures()) {
        Geometry geometry = feature.getGeometry();
        Map<String, Object> attributes = feature.getAttributes();

        // Process feature...
    }
}

Encoding Vector Tiles¶

import io.tileverse.vectortile.mvt.VectorTileBuilder;
import io.tileverse.vectortile.mvt.LayerBuilder;
import org.locationtech.jts.geom.Point;
import org.locationtech.jts.geom.Coordinate;
import org.locationtech.jts.geom.GeometryFactory;

// Create a builder
VectorTileBuilder tileBuilder = VectorTileBuilder.create()
    .setExtent(4096);  // Standard tile extent

// Add a layer
LayerBuilder layerBuilder = tileBuilder.layer("cities");

// Add features
GeometryFactory gf = new GeometryFactory();
Point point = gf.createPoint(new Coordinate(100, 200));

layerBuilder.feature()
    .id(1)
    .geometry(point)
    .attributes(Map.of(
        "name", "San Francisco",
        "population", 800000
    ));

// Build and encode
VectorTile tile = tileBuilder.build();
byte[] mvtBytes = codec.encode(tile);

Use Cases¶

• Tile server development: Generate MVT tiles on-the-fly
• Data processing: Convert between vector formats
• Map rendering: Decode MVT for client-side rendering
• Spatial analysis: Extract and analyze vector data from tiles
• PMTiles integration: Work with vector tile content in PMTiles archives

Performance¶

• Efficient Protocol Buffers encoding/decoding
• Memory-efficient streaming for large tile sets
• Optimized geometry transformations
• Thread-safe operations for concurrent processing

Getting Started¶

Related Modules¶

This library works together with other Tileverse modules:

• PMTiles: Store vector tiles in PMTiles archives
• Tile Matrix Set: Work with tile coordinates

Requirements¶

• Java 17+: Minimum runtime version
• JTS Topology Suite: For geometry types
• Protocol Buffers: For MVT encoding/decoding

License¶

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.