I'm looking for an alternative to Google-maps with all the richness of their API but more open. Does such a thing exist?
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2You might also be interested in the following post: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1237187/openlayers-vs-google-maps – Daniel Vassallo Aug 25 '10 at 04:40
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GoogleMaps offers an API **and** free map images. Are you looking just for a map API, or do you need recommendations for free images as well? – MarkJ Aug 25 '10 at 11:43
6 Answers
OpenStreetMap is, of course, the obvious answer. There are various APIs for managing the data in the database, and there are various APIs for getting maps onto your webpages, such as OpenLayers, Mapstraction, or Staticmaps.

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Google have recently introduced a limit of 25,000 map sessions per day, which forced us to consider the alternatives for some of our sites.
We've written a blog post about it with some examples here.
In a nutshell, we have chosen to use a combination of CloudMade's Leaflet for the Javascript Map API, and then Open MapQuest (based on OpenStreetMap data) for the tiles.

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About...
OpenLayers makes it easy to put a dynamic map in any web page. It can display map tiles and markers loaded from any source. MetaCarta developed the initial version of OpenLayers and gave it to the public to further the use of geographic information of all kinds. OpenLayers is completely free, Open Source JavaScript, released under a BSD-style License.

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If you are in the UK you can use the Ordance Surveys' OS Open Data maps.

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@snowcrash Yes, an excellent API: OpenSpace http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/openspace/technicalfaq.html – MarkJ Nov 26 '11 at 09:34
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Consider this article: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/takecontrolofyourmaps
Here are a few options suggested by the article:
1-OpenLayers
2-TileCache
3-Mapnik
4-QGIS
The article explains (theoretically) how to create your own software stack that will mimic google maps, but remain under your complete control.
You might not need all the layers of software for your project, but you may find the article helpful regardless.

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