This workshop demonstrates a full workflow for serving and visualizing vector tiles using open-source tools. We will cover essential spatial data management in PostgreSQL/PostGIS, generating vector tiles through Tegola, and rendering them in a basic React application using OpenLayers. The primary focus is to provide a clear, end-to-end solution that participants can adapt to their own map-driven projects or organizational requirements.

The session begins by examining best practices for structuring and indexing geospatial data in PostgreSQL/PostGIS. Participants will learn how to organize tables, create spatial indexes, and leverage PostGIS functionalities for efficient queries. This foundational step ensures that performance is maintained when dynamically creating vector tiles, even for large datasets. The workshop will then guide attendees through Tegola’s setup, demonstrating how to map backend data to vector tile layers via a straightforward configuration. Techniques for defining multiple layers and handling geometry transformations will be covered, giving participants the tools needed to generate tiles on the fly.

Moving on to the frontend, we will build a basic React application that fetches and renders the Tegola-served vector tiles. With OpenLayers as the primary mapping library, the workshop will show how to set up data sources, bind them to interactive map components, and display or hide layers as needed. Through examples and best practices, participants will see how to manage typical mapping features, such as popup information or user-driven layer toggling, while maintaining performant and responsive applications. Although we will not go deeply into caching strategies, we will highlight how optimizing data loading and proper data structuring can provide a smoother user experience when dealing with numerous vector tiles.

A core theme of the workshop involves creating and managing map styles on the backend, which is particularly beneficial when multiple or frequently changing layers must be styled consistently. Attendees will learn how to define a Mapbox-style JSON document, store it in a centralized location, and leverage the ol-mapbox-style plugin in OpenLayers to apply these definitions automatically. This streamlined approach reduces repetitive work in the frontend and helps maintain style consistency across different projects or teams.

Throughout the workshop, real-world challenges and potential pitfalls will be discussed, including common performance considerations and troubleshooting strategies for vector tile pipelines. Participants will explore how to handle large datasets effectively, address geometry errors, and debug tile generation issues. These insights will equip attendees with practical techniques to ensure their mapping applications remain stable and efficient, even under demanding conditions.

This workshop is hands-on and code-oriented, giving participants a practical guide they can follow step by step. Sample datasets and code snippets will be supplied, helping attendees quickly understand core concepts and apply them in real-time. By combining PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Tegola, React, and OpenLayers, this workshop delivers a robust, open-source foundation for building modern, scalable web mapping applications. By the end of the session, attendees will have a working proof-of-concept application, along with the knowledge and confidence to integrate these techniques into future projects.