Leaflet
Leaflet is an open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. Designed with simplicity, performance, and usability in mind, it provides all the common mapping features developers need in a lightweight, extensible package. It has become a foundational tool for displaying…
Key facts
- First appeared
- 2011
- Category
- technology
- Problem solved
- Leaflet was created to address the growing need for a lightweight, easy-to-use, and performant JavaScript library for interactive web maps. Before Leaflet, developers often had to choose between the proprietary and sometimes heavy Google Maps API, or the powerful but complex and steep-learning-curve OpenLayers. Leaflet offered a streamlined alternative that prioritized simplicity and mobile responsiveness, allowing for quick deployment of basic, yet highly functional, maps.
- Platforms
- Web browsers (mobile), Web browsers (desktop)
Related technologies
Notable users
- Foursquare
- Wikipedia
- Strava
- Washington Post (for data visualizations)
- Flickr
- Esri (via Esri Leaflet plugin)
- OpenStreetMap (official website)
- New York Times (for data visualizations)