Overview

Provided that a position has been obtained, the Qt Location module can add a Map with Places of Interest (POI) and Places. The user can be made aware of nearby features and related information, displayed on the map. These features can be places of business, entertainment, and so on. They may include paths, roads, or forms of transport, enabling navigation optimization and assistance.

To perform navigation we need Routes from start to destination. These routes are made up of segments, where each RouteSegment can be considered a navigation subtask; for example, "drive 100 meters", or "turn left". The beginning and end of each segment is a waypoint, that is, one part of the journey.

A typical use case for the API is a user looking for a particular type of place, such as a restaurant; the user enters a search string into the map application and is presented with a list of results for restaurants "near" the device. The application can then be used to navigate to the chosen destination using a route that is optimized according to features in the environment that may help or hinder the journey. The navigation then proceeds with the user's progress monitored by means of the current location.

In short, the main QML types and their roles are as follows:

• The Place instances hold information about the destination and surrounding objects, including displayable representations.
• The Map enables the information contained in Place objects to be displayed, panned, zoomed, and so on.
• The Route is be determined by a plugin, with each RouteSegment holding the navigation instructions, guided by the continuously updated current Location.

Plugins

Plugins supply the data required to calculate routes and navigation instructions, and they are typically tied to a specific location-based service. For example, a plugin may allow connecting to a service that provides geocoding and routing information, which can be consumed by the application.

There may be various GeoServices plugins for various tasks, with some plugins providing more than one service. One QML Plugin instance must be created for each GeoService plugin. Plugins are required for routing and geocoding, maps, and places, however the default plugin handles all four of these services. A plugin may require online access or it may support on-board maps and data.

Note: Plugins may not provide features such as paging or relevance hints.

Related Information

The following links provide more information about maps and places:

Common QML Types

Maps QML Types

Navigation and Routing QML Types

Geocoding QML Types

Places QML Types

Alphabetical Listing of All QML Types