MapTechnicaAPI

Note:

Please note the MapTechnica API system is now in Beta. If you would like to participate in the Beta program, you may sign up here:

https://www.maptechnica.com/beta-signup

If you wish to be notified when the API is formally launched, sign up to this list:

http://eepurl.com/b0y8Mn

(We promise not to spam you.)

Overview

mtapi is a composer package that lets you easily access the MapTechnica API from your Laravel application. The MapTechnica API ("MT API") lets you retrieve GIS boundary, meta, and centroid data for the following geotypes:

• US Census Bureau Data:
  • ZIP Codes (ZCTA5s)
  • 3-Digit ZIP Code Prefixes (ZCTA3s)
  • Cities & Places
  • Counties
  • Congressional Districts for the current session
  • School Districts
• Canadian Boundary Data
  • FSAs (the three-character postal code prefix)
  • Provinces

You can see this data in action and learn more about the MapTechnica API on MapTechnica.com.

Note:

Free use of this package is covered under the MIT license. However, to access the MT API, you will need to obtain a license key which is subject to its own use restrictions and fees. Visit the Developers seciton of MapTechnica.com for more information.

Obtain a MapTechnica API Key (BETA)

The API system is currently in Beta. If you would like to participate in the Beta program, please fill out the request form here:

https://www.maptechnica.com/beta-signup

While you're there, go ahead and register for an account:

https://my.maptechnica.com/register

If you are selected to participate in the Beta program, you will be contacted with API key information.

Package Installation

In a terminal, require the package from the root directory of your Laravel project:

composer require maptechnica\mtapi

Laravel 5.x:

After updating composer, add the ServiceProvider to the providers array in config/app.php:

MapTechnica\MTAPI\MTAPIServiceProvider::class,

Add an alias to config/app.php:

'MTAPI' => MapTechnica\MTAPI\MTAPIDataRetriever::class,

Next, move the config file into the config directory. From your project's root directory, type:

php artisan vendor:publish

Now you have a choice. You can either directly alter the values in your config\mtapi.php file as follows:

From:

'apiKey'         => env('MAPTECHNICA_API_KEY', NULL),

To:

'apiKey'         => env('MAPTECHNICA_API_KEY', '[YOUR_API_KEY]'),

Or, if you're in an environment that requires different keys based on your server location, leave config\mtapi.php as-is and open your .env file and add the following variable instead

MAPTECHNICA_API_KEY=[YOUR_API_KEY]

Post-Installation

Once Composer has done its thing, and assuming your Laravel app is up and running, open...

http://yourapp/__mtapi

...in your browser. You should see a links page.

Check Your Installation

Click the "Check Installation" button to insure your variables are set correctly and the API is responding to your requests.

Learning the API

Click the "API Documentation" button to view a Swagger playground and documentation for the API.

Getting Help

There are several resources available to you if you run into trouble:

• Developer Forum - Ask for help and share solutions with your fellow developers at http://forum.maptechnica.com/
• MapTechnica Support - If you have found a bug or have encountered a problem not solved by the Forum, you can open a support ticket at http://help.maptechnica.com/. Note that debugging your application is outside the scope of support for the API, so please limit your issues to bugs encountered with the API itself.

Links

Project Home: https://github.com/maptechnica/mtapi

Git Repository: https://github.com/maptechnica/mtapi

API Documentation (Swagger): https://dev.maptechnica.com/apidocs/

The MapTechnica API makes it possible to access MapTechnica's boundary data directly into your mapping application.

This package is designed to work with Laravel 5+ or as a standalone package in your own composer-based project.