Summary

This release offers a great advancement in usability and features such as several new plugins, advanced symbolization, and ICU unicode support.

Over 140 tickets were closed against this milestone, and builds across both linux, mac and windows should be working better than ever.

We also now have a fresh set of [http://svn.mapnik.org/trunk/docs/api_docs/python/index.html Python API Docs (Epydocs)].

Enjoy,

Dane

=== Highlights ===

• New ICU unicode support via Artem's genius

• [http://trac.mapnik.org/wiki/MapnikRenderers#Cairographics Cairo] rendering backend - thanks Tom!

• XML [http://svn.mapnik.org/trunk/docs/api_docs/python/mapnik-module.html#load_map_from_string from a string] - wicked nice Jonb

• Support for [http://trac.mapnik.org/wiki/RasterSymbolizer raster composing modes] targeted at hillshading - Nice Marcin!

• Tons of [PluginArchitecture new plugins] - OSM (nick), Oracle, OGR, SQlite (kunitoki)

• Big improvements to [UsingScons SCons] - experience it for yourself and build it :) (Thanks jbronn for the boost help)

• In memory [http://trac.mapnik.org/ticket/192 PointDatasource ] for dynamically drawing geometries - lwu rocks!

• Love for the OgcServer - thanks xcacou, tmcw, and theo - it works with OSM xml, WMS 1.3.0, and a whole lot more.

• We've got FontSet support (fallback fonts) from Beau- nice stuff

• [http://trac.mapnik.org/ticket/117 ProjTransform] exposed by Artem in python. Now you can transform bbox's between projected systems.

• Mapnik is faster (#156) with projections and PostGIS (#139,#140,#141) thanks to the genius of Rcoup

• Map buffers to avoid cut labels - thanks Artem!

• Transparent Point Symbolizers - good stuff Brian!

For a full list of major changes see the 0.6.0 Changelog wiki:Release0.6.0