Leaflet (software)

Leaflet
Original author(s)Volodymyr Agafonkin
Initial releaseMay 13, 2011 (2011-05-13)
Stable release
1.9.4[1]Edit this on Wikidata / 18 May 2023; 17 months ago (18 May 2023)
Repository
Written inJavaScript
PlatformSee Browser support
TypeJavaScript library
LicenseBSD-2-Clause[2]
Websiteleafletjs.com

Leaflet is a JavaScript library used to build web mapping applications. It allows developers without a GIS background to display tiled web maps hosted on a public server, with optional tiled overlays. It can load feature data from GeoJSON files, style it and create interactive layers, such as markers with popups when clicked.

First released in 2011,[3] it supports most mobile and desktop platforms, supporting HTML5 and CSS3. Among its users are FourSquare, Pinterest, Flickr, and the USGS.

Leaflet is open source, and is developed by Volodymyr Agafonkin, who joined Mapbox in 2013.[4]

Leaflet is an open-source, JavaScript-based library for creating interactive maps. It was created in 2011 by Volodymyr Agafonkin, a Ukrainian citizen.[5] It covers a wide range of features a developer would need in creating interactive maps. It is supported by many browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari 5+, Opera 12+, Internet Explorer 9 or later versions, and Edge.[6] It supports many third-party plugins, thus enabling the developer to integrate different kinds of features, such as Tile and image layering, Overlay displays, and various interactions into the map; these plugins help the developer create excellent maps. [7]

Being a lightweight (about 42KB of JS) [8] as intended, Leaflet enjoys a fantastic community of contributors helping to maintain it. It is built with simplicity; one good thing about Leaflet is its readable, easy-to-follow source code with rich API documentation. The Leaflet is still new; more effort could focused on providing detailed source code examples, such as step-by-step guidance for implementing third-party plugins. Most of its resources are docked in GitHub and can easily be downloaded and modified however you wish, and the source codes are entirely open source.[9]

So far, three versions of Leaflet have been released, with its most stable version (Leaflet 1.9.4) released on May 18, 2023. The previous version (Leaflet 1.8.0) was released on April 18, 2022. A new version (Leaflet 2.0) is being developed, and its release date is yet to be set. [10]

  1. ^ "v1.9.4 Latest". 18 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  2. ^ "License - Leaflet". Leaflet. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  3. ^ Lovelace, Robin. "Testing web map APIs - Google vs OpenLayers vs Leaflet". Archived from the original on 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  4. ^ MacWright, Tom (2014-08-06). "Leaflet Creator Vladimir Agafonkin Joins MapBox". Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  5. ^ Agafonkin, V. (2024, July 28). An open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. https://leafletjs.com/index.html
  6. ^ Agafonkin, V. (2024, July 28). An open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. https://leafletjs.com/index.html
  7. ^ Agafonkin, V. (2024, July 28). An open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. https://leafletjs.com/index.html
  8. ^ Agafonkin, V. (2024, July 28). An open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. https://leafletjs.com/index.html
  9. ^ Agafonkin, V. (2024, July 28). An open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. https://leafletjs.com/index.html
  10. ^ MacWright, Tom (2014-08-06). "Leaflet Creator Vladimir Agafonkin Joins MapBox". Retrieved 2018-11-03.