osgEarth Layers

These are the public layer types native to osgEarth.

Raster Data

Data Source Description
GDAL Loads any imagery format supported by the GDAL library, including GeoTIFF
MBTiles Reads imagery tiles from an MBTiles (MapBox Tiles) database file
TMS Connects to a TMS (TileMapService) repository
WMS OGC Web Map Service server
XYZ Reads data in standard XYZ format (no metadata)
Composite Combines multiple image layers into a single map layer
ContourMap Renders a colored representation of the elevation data in the map
Microsoft Bing ($) Connects to Microsoft Bing service. License key required
Cesium Ion ($) Connects to a Cesium Ion server instance. License key required
ESRI ArcGIS Server ($) Connects to an ESRI ArcGIS Server instance
MapboxGL Rasterizes a MapboxGL map to an image layer.

Vector Data

Earth File Description
FeatureImage Rasterizes vector data into an image layer
FeatureModel Renders vector data as OpenSceneGraph geometry
TiledFeatureModel Like a FeatureModel layer, but optimized for pre-tiled vector datasets

Miscellaneous Layers

Earth File API Class Description
Annotations AnnotationLayer Holds a collection of annotation elements (like text labels, place nodes, or features)
Debug DebugImageLayer Renders metadata about each rendered map tile
GeodeticGraticule GeodeticGraticuleLayer Display a simple latitude/longitude graticule
MGRSGraticule MGRSGraticuleLayer Displays a simple MGRS graticule with labels
Model ModelLayer Loads and displays an external 3D model at a map location
Ocean SimpleOceanLayer Renders a very simple ocean surface (requires the map to have bathymetry data)
Sky SimpleSkyLayer Renders a sky model with realistic lighting and shading
TerrainConstraint TerrainConstraintLayer Alters the triangulation of the terrain skin to incorporate vector data; e.g., to represent ridgelines, coastlines, or to cut out an area where a custom terrain model will go
ThreeDTiles ThreeDTilesLayer Displays a 3D-Tiles dataset
UTMGraticule UTMGraticuleLayer Displays a simple UTM graticule
Video VideoLayer Renders various video formats to a layer (using FFMPEG)
Viewpoints ViewpointsLayer Pre-set viewpoints that a viewer application can display for the user
Wind WindLayer Incorporates a wind model (needs other layers that can use the data)

Feature Sources

Earth File API Class Description
MVTFeatures MVTFeatureSource Mapnik Vector Tiles specification
OGRFeatures OGRFeatureSource Uses a GDAL/OGR vector driver to read feature data. This is the most common feature source for reading local data (e.g., ESRI Shapefile)
TFSFeatures TFSFeatureSource Reads vector features from a server according to the Tiled Feature Service specification (osgEarth proprietary)
WFSFeatures WFSFeatureSource OGC Web Feature Service specification (limited implementation)
XYZFeatures XZYFeatureSource Generic specification for reading tiled vector data from a server