Mapnik is an open source toolkit for developing mapping applications. At the core is a C++ shared library providing algorithms and patterns for spatial data access and visualization. High-level bindings for JavaScript, Python, and Ruby facilitate rapid application development in a variety of environments.
Mapnik is basically a collection of geographic objects like maps, layers, datasources, features, and geometries. The library doesn't rely on any OS specific "windowing systems" and it can be deployed to any server environment. It is intended to play fair in a multi-threaded environment and is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at web-based development.
For further information see [http://mapnik.org](http://mapnik.org) and also our [wiki documentation](https://github.com/mapnik/mapnik/wiki) here on GitHub.
See [INSTALL.md](https://github.com/mapnik/mapnik/blob/master/INSTALL.md) for installation instructions and the [Install](https://github.com/mapnik/mapnik/wiki/Mapnik-Installation) page on the wiki for guides.
Mapnik software is free and is released under the LGPL ([GNU Lesser General Public License](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html_)). Please see [COPYING](https://github.com/mapnik/mapnik/blob/master/COPYING) for more information.
