A hands-on environment for learning and experimentation
By: Erin Quinn
Whether you’re new to our stack, preparing to move from Mapbox.js -> Mapbox GL JS, or curious how common map concepts are implemented across platforms, explore our new Interactive tools. These “Playgrounds” are designed for hands-on learning. Choose your use case and customize the output, then generate platform-specific code so you can publish your map ideas faster. 🚀
Interactive tools are a new part of mapbox.com/help, and we’re kicking it off with the Static API Playground and Marker Playground. Give them a try and let us know what other playgrounds you’d like to see. We have more coming soon!
Marker playground
Markers are custom images you can use to annotate a map and designate points-of-interest. In the Marker playground, you’re able to choose your platform — web, Android, iOS, React Native — add a marker image and generate starter code to drop right into your application.
You’ll have a working prototype in less than two minutes. Just testing? No worries, we also link to JSBin.
Static API Playground
Sometimes you need to generate a static map to use as a thumbnail or embedded element that displays useful information but doesn’t need to be interactive. Jump into the Static API playground, and we’ll walk you through building a request to the Mapbox Static API.
We featured this playground with step-by-step instructions for creating custom wallpaper for your phone from your favorite maps or satellite images. There are a bunch of ways you can extend the functionality from there, like adding custom overlays for ride receipts or including maps in push notifications.
Tell us how about the projects you’re building and how you’re using the new playgrounds. Tweet @Mapbox using #BuiltWithMapbox or reach out to our Support team to submit feedback.
We’ll use your input for the next set of interactive tools we’re launching at: https://www.mapbox.com/help/interactive-tools.
Explore our new interactive tools was originally published in Points of interest on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.