Maputnik as local editing tool

[lukasmartinelli]

It is quite easy to package Maputnik into an Electron app (or https://github.com/miketheprogrammer/go-thrust executable).

This means we have the following advantages:

• Directly interact with the file on disk
  • Better integration with GIT
  • Perhaps support file watching to reload even if you change the file with your editor
• Access to internal and local vector tile servers

I want to keep the web version (with local storage support) because I think for most people this will be a cool way to play around with maps and get to know vector tiles.
This is just about packaging it up as a binary with embedded chromium.
Or run it as local server and open a web page in the browser.

Links:

• Target browser and electron render process with webpack: https://medium.com/@ad_harmonium/build-to-both-electron-js-and-browser-targets-using-webpack-59266bdb76a#.wnpmbg1p8

[lukasmartinelli]

Better to just have a binary people can download an run and then they visit the editor in the browser (than embedding a browser itself).

The desktop/server executable is in a different repo since it really is just wrapping around the actual web based editor: https://github.com/maputnik/desktop

With Golang cross platform is really easy (and embedding works also well).
Right now https://github.com/maputnik/desktop just embeds the built JavaScript application bundle.

But it also exposes a local style file to the editor so it can edit it and can notify about file changes via websockets.

[lukasmartinelli]

This use case has been solved now. I am successfully editing local style JSONs.
Should add good documentation to the README for it though.