CARTO (formerly CartoDB) is a

software as a service Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software. SaaS is con ...

(SaaS)

cloud computing Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mu ...

platform that provides GIS,

web mapping Web mapping or an online mapping is the process of using maps, usually created through geographic information systems (GIS), on the Internet, more specifically in the World Wide Web (WWW). A web map or an online map is both served and consumed, ...

, and spatial data science tools. The company is positioned as a Location Intelligence platform due to tools with an aptitude for data analysis and visualization that do not require previous GIS or development experience. CARTO users can use the company's free platform or deploy their own instance of the open source software. It was first released in Beta at FOSS4G in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in September 2011, and officially debuted as a final release at Where2.0 in April 2012. Since 2014, CARTO is a company independent from Vizzuality. The Spanish start-up raised $7 million from a consortium of investors in September 2014. In September 2015, CARTO received a $23 million in Series B financing. In May 2019, CARTO acquired Geographica, in an effort to boost their professional services offering.

Technology

CARTO is an open source software built on

PostGIS PostGIS ( ) is an open source software program that adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational database. PostGIS follows the Simple Features for SQL specification from the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). Technica ...

and PostgreSQL. The tool uses

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior, of ...

extensively in the front end

web application A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serv ...

, back end

Node.js Node.js is an open-source server environment. Node.js is cross-platform and runs on Windows, Linux, Unix, and macOS. Node.js is a back-end JavaScript runtime environment. Node.js runs on the V8 JavaScript Engine and executes JavaScript code o ...

based APIs, and for client libraries. CARTO's platform consists of several primary components.

CARTO Builder

The first is the

called Builder where users can manage data, run user side analysis and design custom maps. Builder is intended for non-developers and beginners to have access to, and be able to use advanced geospatial tools. In Builder, advanced users also have access to a web interface where SQL can be used to manipulate data and CartoCSS, a

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...

language similar to CSS, can be used for data driven map design.

CARTO Engine

The CARTO Engine, which is a set of APIs and developer libraries for building custom map and data visualization interfaces.

APIs

The Maps API: acts as a dynamic tile service, which creates new tiles based on client requests. This allows users to design maps in the web application, then use those styles and data in custom web applications. The SQL API, where PostgreSQL-supported SQL statements can be used to retrieve data from the database. The SQL API serves data in various formats including Shapefile,

GeoJSON GeoJSON is an open standard format designed for representing simple geographical features, along with their non-spatial attributes. It is based on the JSON format. The features include points (therefore addresses and locations), line strings ( ...

, and CSV. The Data Services API allows for easily building functionalities such as routing, geocoding, and vector basemaps.

JavaScript libraries

Finally, there are the Carto.js and CARTO VL libraries, which can wrap the APIs into complete visualizations or be used to integrate data into other web applications with raster or vector renderings, respectively

CARTOframes

CARTOframes is a

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

package for integrating CARTO maps, analysis, and data services into data science workflows via

Jupyter Project Jupyter () is a project with goals to develop open-source software, open standards, and services for interactive computing across multiple programming languages. It was spun off from IPython in 2014 by Fernando Pérez and Brian Granger. ...

notebooks.

Data Observatory

CARTO offers a wide range of datasets from around the globe accessible though their Data Observatory, which acts as their spacial data repository. Data scientists can augment their data and broaden their analysis with the location data available in the Data Observatory.

Communities

In addition to several independent user communities, many businesses and organizations have adopted the SaaS service or the open source platform for their own needs. Notable groups include

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

, and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

References

{{Reflist, 2 GIS software Data visualization software