What is the GlsMap Toolkit?

The GlsMap Toolkit is a plug-in for GL Studio® that enables the developer to create 2D map displays from different data sources and to display dynamic symbology over this map. The map will be displayed on a user-defined plane. The GlsMap Toolkit allows the developer to add controls to zoom in and out, rotate, change the center of rotation, and pan across the map display.

Map Data Sources

DiSTI© Arbitrary Image Format (AIF)

The Arbitrary Image Format (AIF) was developed by DiSTI to provide an easy-to-use image-based format that can be used to load custom imagery into a GL Studio map display. The images that make up an AIF data set can consist of any image file supported by GL Studio. The list of images to load and their geographical locations are stored in an XML-based index file.

Within the XML file, images must be grouped by a user-defined overlay name and image resolution. Each image is geo-located by giving the latitude and longitude for each of the four corners of the image. The images do not need to be geo-rectified. Here is an example of an AIF XML file:

<aif>
    <overlay name="CentralFlorida">
        <resolution value="64.0">
            <cell image= "./CentralFlorida/disti_64m_1.png" lat1="28.3" lon1="-81.6" lat2="28.3" lon2="-81.5" lat3="28.4" lon3="-81.5" lat4="28.4" lon4="-81.6"/>
        </resolution>
    </overlay>
</aif>

The Compressed ARC Digitized Raster Graphics (CADRG) format is derived from the ARC Digitized Raster Graphics (ADRG) digitized paper charts data. CADRG conforms to the Raster Product Format (RPF) standard. CADRG compatible products are available from various vendors.

The Digital Nautical Chart (DNC) format is a vector-based format used for maritime navigation. DNC is produced in the standard Vector Product Format (VPF). Since DNC data is a vector-based database, it is possible to enable/disable individual features, query the database and re-render the data at any scale. The DNC database is produced and distributed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) format is a standard format for terrain elevation data which consists of a grid of height value samples taken at regular intervals. DTED is a common format for communicating terrain elevation values and is supported by many GIS products.

Each DTED file contains elevation information about a one-degree-square area. The boundaries of a DTED file's area must fall on whole degree latitude and longitude lines, and the data in one file cannot cross those lines, though data points on the lines are permitted (and expected). DTED files come in three resolutions, DTED Level 0 (.dt0), DTED Level 1 (.dt1), and DTED Level 2 (.dt2), with each type containing successively more detailed data

The GeoTIFF standard extends the TIFF image format to embed georeferencing data in the image file. Many Geographic Information System (GIS) products support import/export of GeoTIFF images making it a useful format for storing satellite imagery, maps and other georeferenced images. Additional details on the GeoTIFF format can be found at the GeoTIFF web page: http://trac.osgeo.org/geotiff

The shapefile format is a geospatial vector data format for Geographic Information System (GIS) software. The shapefile format can spatially describe vector features: points, lines, and polygons, representing, for example, water wells, rivers, and lakes. Each item usually has attributes that describe it, such as name or temperature. Additional details on the Shapefile format can be found at the Esri web page: http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/shapefile.pdf

See the DiSTI Support Confluence documentation for more information on the Map Toolkit Plug-In.

Table of Contents

What is the GlsMap Toolkit?

Map Data Sources

DiSTI© Arbitrary Image Format (AIF)

Compressed ARC Digitized Raster Graphics (CADRG)

Digital Nautical Chart (DNC)

Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED)

GeoTIFF Data Source (GeoTIFF)

Shapefile Data Source (Shapefile)

Additional Information