Web Map Tile Service (WMTS)

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Introduction

Web Map Tile Service (WMTS), also known as Web Map Tile Service, is a solution that uses pre-generated tiles to provide electronic map services. The WMTS standard defines some operations that allow users to access tile maps. WMTS provides a standardized solution for publishing digital map services using a predefined tile method, making up for the inability of WMS (Web Map Service) to provide tiled maps. The purpose of the WMTS service is to provide services for tile maps.

Data Format Overview

1. Image format

Common formats: JPEG, PNG, WEBP, etc.
WMTS also supports other image formats, such as GIF, TIFF, etc., but they are relatively less used in WMTS.

2. Tile format

Tile is the smallest unit of map data. WMTS divides the entire map into tiles, each of which corresponds to a specific URL. The format of the tile is usually the same as the image format, that is, PNG or JPEG. When requesting a tile, you can specify the required image format by setting the format parameter.

3. Coordinate and matrix format

Coordinate reference system (CRS): WMTS service supports multiple coordinate reference systems, such as WGS 84, EPSG:3857 (Web Mercator projection), etc. When requesting a tile, you need to specify the required coordinate reference system.
Tile matrix set (TileMatrixSet): The tile matrix set defines the various levels and resolutions of map slices. Each tile matrix set is identified by a tile matrix identifier, and contains parameters such as the row and column numbers of the tile, pixel length and width, horizontal and vertical spans of the tile, and scale denominator. When requesting tiles, you need to specify the required tile matrix set.

Pros

**1. High performance: **WMTS can quickly load and display maps on the client by pre-rendering map tiles, improving user experience.

**2. High scalability: **WMTS services can use network mechanisms such as distributed cache to achieve scalability and adapt to map service needs of different scales.

**3. Standardization: **WMTS is a standardized service developed by OGC with good interoperability and compatibility.

Cons

**1. Limited flexibility: **Compared with dynamic map services such as WMS, the map tiles provided by WMTS are static, so customized map services cannot be provided.

**2. Data update delay: **Since the WMTS service relies on pre-rendered map tiles, when the map data changes, the tiles need to be regenerated, which may cause a certain data update delay.

Application Scenario

WMTS can pre-render map tiles at different scales on the server side and cache them on the client side, resulting in faster delivery, less bandwidth, and better user experience. By providing static, pre-rendered map tiles, WMTS can quickly display large amounts of data on the Internet without complex analytical functions. WMTS services can be used as basic map services to provide high-performance map support for other applications that require map backgrounds.