Hello! I’m ippuku_time, a GIS implementation support consultant.
This is the 14th installment of the “SuperMap iDesktopX Product and Feature Introduction in 5 Minutes” series. Last time, we tackled the ambitious topic of big data online analysis, which deals with terabytes of data. This time, we’ll focus on the map tile technology that powers the web maps we use every day.
Why do maps load so quickly and smoothly on smartphones and PCs? Let’s uncover the secret.
1. What Are Map Tiles?
Map tiles are a technology that divides a large digital map into many small, square images (tiles) that are generated and stored in advance. When you view a web map, only the tiles needed for the current screen area are requested from the server and displayed—assembled like pieces of a puzzle.
This approach avoids loading massive amounts of map data all at once, enabling remarkably fast display performance.
(1) Pyramid Structure of Map Tiles
Map tiles are prepared at multiple zoom levels and organized in a hierarchical pyramid structure.
When you zoom out, fewer, lower-resolution tiles are loaded.
As you zoom in, more detailed, higher-resolution tiles are fetched.
This structure ensures smooth and seamless zooming across scales.
Illustration of map tile technology
2. Tile Creation Process in SuperMap iDesktopX
iDesktopX provides a comprehensive set of tools for creating and managing map tiles. There are two main types of tiles you can generate:
(1) Raster Tiles
This traditional approach divides maps into image tiles in formats such as PNG or JPG.
Advantages: Extremely fast rendering.
Limitations: Images may appear blurry when heavily zoomed in, and map styles (colors, symbols) cannot be changed after tile creation.
(2) Vector Tiles
A more modern and flexible format, where tiles store vector data—points, lines, and polygons—instead of images.
Advantages:
Much smaller data size and faster delivery
Client-side rendering keeps maps sharp at any zoom level
Styles can be changed dynamically (e.g., switching to night mode)
3. Efficient Tile Creation with Multi-Processing
Creating detailed tiles for large areas—such as an entire country—can be extremely time-consuming. To address this, iDesktopX supports multi-processing.
This function divides the massive tile-generation task into many smaller jobs and processes them in parallel, fully utilizing multiple CPU cores. As a result, tile creation time is dramatically reduced.
4. Managing and Publishing Tiles
Map tiles are not a “create once and forget” asset. When underlying data changes, tiles must be updated accordingly.
(1) Tile Updates and Validation
iDesktopX can efficiently update only the tiles affected by data changes and provides management tools to verify tile completeness—ensuring there are no missing or blank tiles.
(2) Publishing to iServer
Once created, tiles can be published as web services through a map server such as SuperMap iServer. This allows maps to be accessed from websites and mobile apps, delivering fast and smooth map experiences to large numbers of users.
Summary
In this installment, we explored the map tile technology that enables high-speed web map display—from its underlying principles to tile creation and management with iDesktopX. By understanding the differences between raster and vector tiles, and by leveraging efficiency features like multi-processing, you can build a professional and scalable web map delivery infrastructure.
In Part 15, we’ll move from screens to paper:
“Creating Maps as Drawings! Layout, Typesetting, and Printing.”
We’ll take a closer look at producing well-designed, printable maps for reports and presentations. Stay tuned!
For source and sample code: https://supermap-japan.blogspot.com/2025/09/14web.html
