MVT (MapBox Vector Tile)

GISBox is a one-stop 3D GIS data editing, conversion and publishing platform that supports editing in multiple GIS formats such as OSGB/GEOTIFF/RVT, converting to 3DTiles/Terrain and publishing.

Introduction

**MVT **(MapBox Vector Tile) is a map vector tile format developed and launched by Mapbox. It uses vector data slicing and compression technology to cut geographic data into small vector tiles for fast loading and rendering in web maps and mobile applications.

File Structure

**Tile Header: **Contains meta information (such as coordinates, version).
**Layer: **Represents an independent vector dataset (such as buildings, roads), which can contain multiple.
**Feature: **Represents vector entities (points, lines, and surfaces), including geometry and attributes.
**Geometry: **Binary-encoded geometry, compressed using Varint, supporting point, line, and surface types.
**Properties: **Stored in the form of key-value pairs, associated with features.

Pros

Efficient transmission: vector data is small in size, reducing bandwidth usage.
Dynamic rendering: supports client style customization and interactive operations.
Multi-scale adaptation: the same data source can adapt to different zoom levels.

Cons

High complexity: Generating and parsing MVT requires additional development costs.
Dependence on client performance: Rendering efficiency is limited by device performance.
Cross-slice data redundancy: Adjacent slices may store shared features repeatedly.

Application Scenario

MVT is suitable for scenarios that require efficient storage and transmission of map data. It has a wide range of applications in visualization and interaction in Web maps, mobile applications, and GIS fields.