We are in process of beginning a new project that needs to render offline maps of certain areas. Showing pre-computed (from a web-server source) routes are needed as well ( no need to in-app route computing) We are targeting android devices but we must be very cautious for future cross-platform compatibilities, that would be releasing the same application (with minimum of changes in both of UI and Logic of the application), for other platforms (iOS, Windows, Windows Phone). I considered using of PhoneGap, but by using PhoneGap, the only thing that is shared is UI. then I thought of using Xamarin, Xamarin is more like it, but the "OSMSharp" library has very very poor documentations. I fear using OSMSharp and being unable to solve problems that may occur during app development. And about mapbox, how is it? does it satisfy our needs? I'd like to benefit anyone's ideas who know something about these stuff. |
With regard to Xamarin / Mono vs Android Java vs PhoneGap / Cordova (picking up just part of the question), I'd say the choice here depends more on your familiarity with a particular approach rather than the availability of existing mapping frameworks. If you're a Microsoft C# house then Xamarin would naturally be the way to go (how could your developers possibly manage without lambda functions :-) ?). If you've got lots of HTML / JS people and hate Java with a passion than Phonegap may be worth a look. If none of these apply then why not Android Java? The coverage of Android questions on the likes of StackOverflow is pretty wide and deep; you're unlikely to be ploughing an entirely lonely furrow. All very much IMHO of course ... answered 08 May '14, 20:31 SomeoneElse ♦ |
As others say, it's not a simple yes/no question, so I just will try to help with links:
My personal (IMHO!) perspective (as non Android dev) is that as others say there is currently no ready-to-use open source lib thats easy to use, embedd and extend. This reflects featurerichness, compatibility, existing support and documentation. Please also have a look at Legal FAQ if you plan to ship a product with OSM etc. You might also consider to pay for consulting for GIS company that has already experience with OSM. answered 08 May '14, 18:07 iii |
About recent activities at MapBox for an android SDK, see the blog about looking-android-developers Also see Mapsforge framework where version 0.4.0 was released these days. Or Libosmscout I fear that it is not easy for you to find personal opinions about each solution ... you can search more the OSM wiki about development and android ... but find out on your own what framework fits in your needs. answered 08 May '14, 17:39 stephan75 Maybe asking on one of the main mailing lists might be a better option? It's not really a question that has a "right or wrong" answer.
(08 May '14, 17:41)
SomeoneElse ♦
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