Open Source Maps

Have a look on this african map. You can zoom in, out, pan, click and query, turn layers on and off or add more maps.

Mapbender is a web mapping software implemented in PHP and JavaScript, the configuration resides in a data model stored in a PostgreSQL PostGIS or MySQL database. It is developed as an Open Source project and licensed by the GNU GPL as Free Software. Mapbender is a framework for managing spatial data services that are standardized following the OGC specifications OWS, WMS and WFS and using the formats GeoRSS and GML and Web Map Context. The framework implements user management, authentication and authorization. Management interfaces for user, group and service administration are stored as configurations in the database.

The software is used to display, overlay, edit and manage distributed Web Map Services. The maps themselves are generated by Server software. From this perspective Mapbender is a client software. The client interfaces are generated dynamically by PHP scripts on the Mapbender Server.

GeoServer is the open source Web Feature Server 1.0 reference implementation, also implementing the Web Map Server 1.1.1 and Web Coverage Server 1.0 specifications . It was started by a non-profit organization called The Open Planning Project (TOPP), to help build an interoperable Spatial Data Infrastructure by providing high quality, easy to use, open source software to potential data providers.

MapServer is an open source internet map server, which runs as a CGI program. MapServer was developed by the University of Minnesota. MapServer was originally developed with support from NASA, which needed a way to make its satellite imagery available to the public.