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Version: 0.7.3

Foursquare Map SDK Playground

The Foursquare Map SDK lets you embed and control Foursquare Studio maps from

Our Playground app allows you to interactively use our API so that you can:

  • change the parameters of the API functions in the documentation
  • see the results instantly on the map
  • see the API code with parameter values that gets called
  • see the datasets that are added with each map
  • see the received responses from the API
  • monitor events that are triggered

Introduction

Use Cases​

The Map SDK makes it easy to:

  • Do exploratory geospatial analytics and data science in Jupyter Notebooks.
  • Build web pages that embed published Foursquare Studio maps.
  • Create bespoke styling and interactions for Foursquare Studio maps.
  • Integrate Foursquare Studio maps into your organization's workflows.

Before using the Map SDK, please note that:

  • The Foursquare Map SDK is intended for displaying and controlling Foursquare Studio Maps in a web browser (either embedded into your custom web applications or into your Jupyter Notebooks).
  • If you want to control the Foursquare Studio platform from your back end services, please consider the Foursquare Studio Data SDK, which does not have any browser dependencies.

Features​

Both the Python and JavaScript versions of the Foursquare Map SDK provide access to similar APIs that let developers control embedded Foursquare Studio maps from their own Notebooks or web pages in the browser. This section contains high level overview of the capabilities of the Map SDK APIs.

Map Creation​

The Map SDK provides function for embedding and loading maps into your web page:

  • Inject published Foursquare Studio maps into your own web pages.
  • Be notified when your maps have loaded and initialized.

Map Control​

The Map SDK provides control of what is being viewed such as position of maps, and which data layers are visible:

  • Control the viewport (move the position and zoom level of the map).
  • Query a list of map layers and hide/show map layers.
  • Trigger a reload of the data displayed on the map. This lets applications to reload data from live data sources).

Animation Control​

Animation is a core feature of Foursquare Studio maps, and the Map SDK provides a full complement of functions to let applications control this feature:

  • Toggle the (layer) timeline control visibility.
  • Start and pause animation in the (layer) timeline control.
  • Define the time interval for the (layer) timeline control.
  • Get (layer) timeline control information.
  • Monitor timeline updates

User Interface Customization​

Foursquare Studio maps come with pre-built user interface components such as layer legends and timelines, functions are provided for developers that want to customize their user interface:

  • Set the map color theme (light/dark).
  • Toggle map controls visibility (e.g. Legend)

Note that UI customization is not restricted to changing the styling of the existing components. It is possible to extensively customize the user interface, and applications can build their own timeline and layer selector components by leveraging the full array of Map SDK functions.

Roadmap​

The Map SDK is actively being extended to meet the needs of our customers. If you think the Map SDK might be of interest to you, but don't see everything you need, contact info-studio@foursquare.com.

Developer Support​

Foursquare provides developer support for the Map SDK:

  • Foursquare Studio customers have access to priority developer support.
  • Foursquare can provide professional services to help customers build custom applications with the Map SDK. Contact info-studio@foursquare.com for more information.

In addition to the paid support tiers, the Foursquare Studio Community slack channel is a great place for anyone to engage if you have questions about the Map SDK, or if you want to suggest additional examples to help you get started etc.