WXTiles API Product Documentation

WXTiles API is a powerful tool for visualizing weather data in your programming projects. This documentation provides detailed instructions on how to use the WXTiles API to its fullest potential.

The WXTiles API is comprised of three main components:

1. The Splitter service, which splits datasets into tiles and metadata served by a fileserver backend.
2. The WxTiles-mbox source code, which provides a JavaScript API for working with metadata, dataset management, and an implementation of a Custom MapBox-gl-gs Layer for visualizing the tiles using Mapbox-gl-gs.
3. The WxTiles-leaflet source code, which provides a JavaScript API for working with metadata, dataset management, and an implementation of a Custom Leaflet Layer for visualizing the tiles using Leaflet.

With these components, you can easily integrate weather data visualization into your programming projects. The API is available for use with two different frameworks: Leaflet and Mapbox-gl-gs. While the API for both frameworks is similar in many ways, there are some differences in the framework-specific implementations of the Custom Source/Layer.

To get started with the WXTiles API, check out the DOCS section for detailed usage and API documentation. You can also explore the Examples section to see the API in action and get inspiration for your own projects.

1. Splitter - a service that splits the datasets into tiles (PNG) and some metadata (JSON). A private project of MetOcean/MetService.
2. WxTiles-mbox source code, npm @metoceanapi/wxtiles-mbox - a JS API providing work with metadata, dataset manager and an implementation of a Custom MapBox-gl-gs Layer for visualizing the tiles using Mapbox-gl-gs.
3. WxTiles-leaflet source code, npm @metoceanapi/wxtiles-leaflet - a JS API providing work with metadata, dataset manager and an implementation of a Custom Leaflet Layer for visualizing the tiles using Leaflet.

Online DOCS

• WxTiles-mbox: https://metoceanapi.github.io/wxtiles-mbox/docs/
• WxTiles-Leaflet: https://metoceanapi.github.io/wxtiles-leaflet/docs/

Online Examples

1. SimpleDemo.
2. Animated blur parameter
3. Mouse Interaction and masking

MapBox-gl-js

(async func(){
	//// MAPBOX initialization START
	mapboxgl.accessToken = '--key--';
	const map = new mapboxgl.Map({ container: 'map', style: { version: 8, name: 'Empty', sources: {}, layers:[] } });
	map.addControl(new mapboxgl.NavigationControl(), 'bottom-right');
	await map.once('load');
	// base layer
	map.addSource('baseS', { type: 'raster', tiles: ['https://tiles.metoceanapi.com/base-lines/{z}/{x}/{y}'], maxzoom: 4 });
	map.addLayer({ id: 'baseL', type: 'raster', source: 'baseS' });
	//// MAPBOX initialization END

	//// WXTILES initialization START
	// grab the WxTiles API
	const { WxTilesLogging, WxAPI, CustomWxTilesLayer } = window.wxtilesmbox;
	// WxTilesLogging(true); // log WxTiles info to console if needed

	const dataServerURL = 'https://tilesdev.metoceanapi.com/data/';
	// Specify RequestInit object such as headers, mode, credentials, etc
	const requestInit = {
		/* headers: new Headers({ 'x-api-key': '--proper-key-value--' }) //*/
	};

	// Get the API ready - should be ONE per application
	const wxapi = new WxAPI({ dataServerURL, requestInit });

	// Define the dataset and variable
	const datasetName = 'gfs.global';
	// const variable = 'air.temperature.at-2m'; // Scalar example
	const variable = 'wind.speed.eastward.at-10m'; // Vector example

	// Create a dataset manager (may be used for many layers from this dataset)
	const wxdatasetManager = await wxapi.createDatasetManager(datasetName);

	// create a layer
	const wxsource = wxdatasetManager.createSourceLayer({ variable }, { id: 'wxsource', attribution: 'WxTiles' });
	map.addSource(wxsource.id, wxsource);
	await new Promise((resolve) => map.once('idle', resolve));

	//// Add wxlayer using 'native raster' layer type
	// map.addLayer({ id: 'wxlayer', type: 'raster', source: wxsource.id, paint: { 'raster-fade-duration': 0 /* necessary */ } });

	//// ...or add wxlayer using CustomWxTilesLayer. Implements GLSL shader for vector field animation
	map.addLayer(new CustomWxTilesLayer('wxlayer', wxsource.id), 'baseL');
})()

'Land' masking and animated blur effect

(async function step(n: number = 0) {
	await wxsource.updateCurrentStyleObject({ isolineText: false, blurRadius: ~~(10 * Math.sin(n / 500) + 10) }); // await always !!
	requestAnimationFrame(step);
})();

Change the time step

await wxsource.setTimeStep(1); // 1 - index of the time step in the dataset

or

await wxsource.setTimeStep('2020-01-01T00:00:00Z'); // '2020-01-01T00:00:00Z' - time step in the dataset

or

await wxsource.setTimeStep(2345323454); //  time in seconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

or

await wxsource.setTimeStep(new Date('2020-01-01T00:00:00Z')); // Date object

Update the style

await wxsource.updateCurrentStyleObject({ units: 'm/s', levels: undefined }); // set levels to undefined - to automatically calculate the levels from the dataset

Preload the time steps

// load the time step number 10 to the cache but do not render it
const prom = wxsource.preloadTime(10);
// do stuff asyncronously
// ...
await prom; // wait for the time step to finish loading
// now set the time step to 10
await wxsource.setTime(10); // will be fast rendered from the cache

Abort loading

const abortController = new AbortController();
console.log('setTime(5)');
const prom = wxsource.setTime(5, abortController);
abortController.abort(); // aborts the request
await prom; // await always !! even if aborted
console.log('aborted');

Get the current time step

const timeStep = wxsource.getTime();

read lon lat data

map.on('mousemove', (e) => {
	if (!wxsource) return;
	const pos = position(e); //
	const tileInfo: WxTileInfo | undefined = wxsource.getLayerInfoAtLatLon(pos.wrap(), map);
	if (tileInfo) {
		console.log(tileInfo);
	}
});

more interactive - additional level and a bit of the red transparentness around the level made from current mouse position

await wxsource.updateCurrentStyleObject({ levels: undefined }); // reset levels if existing in the style
const levels = wxsource.getCurrentStyleObjectCopy().levels || []; // get current/default/any levels
// generate a new color map from the levels
const colMap: [number, string][] = levels.map((level) => [level, '#' + Math.random().toString(16).slice(2, 8) + 'ff']);
let busy = false;
map.on('mousemove', async (e) => {
	if (!wxsource || busy) return;
	busy = true;
	const tileInfo: WxTileInfo | undefined = wxsource.getLayerInfoAtLatLon(position(e), map);
	if (tileInfo) {
		await wxsource.updateCurrentStyleObject({ colorMap: [...colMap, [tileInfo.inStyleUnits[0], '#ff000000']] });
		console.log(tileInfo);
	}
	busy = false;
});