Hi, reading through this week community meeting, I saw that Jolla is planning to have internal discussions regarding map apps and the open-source predictive keyboard. While keyboard is somewhat simpler case (in terms of dependencies), I would like to save Jolla's time and list the dependencies required for inclusion of such mapping applications as WhoGo Maps. This internal discussion is very much welcome and I would like to stress that such incorporation is actually relatively simple.
1: It may sound surprising, but we need ability to use QtPositioning and QtLocation. In this sense, application developers have much faster response time than Jolla and I am sure we'll be able to adapt to transition from QtPositioning/QtLocation 5.2 to 5.6 in a blink of an eye, comparing to soon^TM. 2: WhoGo Maps (and sports app Laufhelden) use Mapbox GL for showing maps. This is done via QML plugin https://github.com/rinigus/mapbox-gl-qml . The plugin is based on recent QtLocation code and my own development on the basis of it. Its API has been designed to make it simple to access Mapbox GL functionality from pure QML applications and was shaped while I was porting Poor Maps to this widget. Since API is in our own hands, we could keep it as stable as we please. To compile the plugin, Mapbox GL branch specifically developed for QtLocation inclusion is used. This requires newer gcc; SFOS version is compiled with gcc 6.4 ( https://build.merproject.org/package/show/home:rinigus:toolbox/opt-gcc). Plugin license is LGPLv3 since some of the code comes from newer QtLocation. Plugin and corresponding QMapboxGL are packaged and compiled at OBS. I don't know Mer's licensing policy and who is deciding it (community or Jolla), but it seems to me that this QML maybe incorporated into it. Alternative would be to have it in some separate repository. 3: For voice instructions, we need TTS engines. Two of them (mimic, flite based; picoTTS) are available and packaged at OBS. I would suggest to incorporate them into Mer Finally, regarding online/offline maps and EU network charges. The privacy, network coverage redundancy, and requirements for OSM Scout Server have been addressed during the meeting by community members. However, while network access is much cheaper in EU, don't forget that online maps require a server on the other side. There are few commercial solutions, but, they are not cheap. @otsaloma had to install his own server to go around these costs. So, with incorporation of maps software and distribution of it among many users (many is relative) may lead to a requirement of setting up the server(s) or paying for it. Offline maps are cheaper due to the local processing of requests, but may require larger network bandwidth to get maps on devices. So far, @MartinK and @bomo are distributing maps prepared by me via their servers (thank you!). I hope that I didn't forget anything. Have a nice weekend, Rinigus
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