Glossary

.carto

A compressed file format containing basemaps, map layers, styling, analysis, widgets, legends, attributions, metadata, and custom SQL queries for rendering maps in CARTO Builder and Editor.

Aggregations

Using one map symbol to represent multiple features by combining attribute data through methods like COUNT, SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, and MAX.

Airship

A design library specifically created for building Location Intelligence applications.

Anonymous Maps

Maps instantiated with private data using SQL and CartoCSS configurations, with interaction capabilities provided by UTF Grid.

API Key

Codes enabling requests to CARTO’s APIs (Maps, SQL, etc.) that identify projects and manage access to resources like APIs and Datasets.

APIs

Open source development tools enabling use of multiple APIs to construct advanced, dynamic geospatial datasets and scalable maps for custom applications.

Attributions

Representations of data sources used in maps, which may have copyright protections. Define attributions at both map and dataset levels, particularly when using third-party data.

Auth API

The platform component enabling consistent, uniform access to data, datasets, and APIs across CARTO.

Auto Style

A Builder widget feature allowing viewers to automatically apply cartographic styles via toggle button.

Basemap

Image tiles rendering map backgrounds, sourced from CARTO, Stamen, HERE, Mapbox, WMS/WMTS, TileJSON, or NASA imagery. Basemaps form the bottom layer and cannot be reordered in Builder’s LAYERS pane.

Batch Queries

Requests handling long-running CPU processing times without timeout errors. Create, read, cancel, or chain multiple SQL queries into single jobs with status tracking.

Billing

Account billing information accessible through settings, including plan changes, invoice viewing, and payment editing.

Blend Modes

Composite operations styling how overlapping geometry colors interact, similar to Photoshop operations.

Boolean

Values representing either “true” or “false,” found in dataset columns and API functions.

Buckets

Data divisions into groups when styling map layers by numeric values.

Buffer

The area encompassing all points within a specified distance from a geometry.

Builder

CARTO’s web-based drag-and-drop analysis tool. Advanced functionality enables insight discovery and prediction for visualizations.

CARTO

The platform for building powerful Location Intelligence applications with optimal data streams.

CARTO Dashboard

Interface for managing datasets and maps, accessing account options, and viewing public profiles.

CARTO On-Premises

Local installation on user servers with Open Source components, including enterprise-level support.

CARTO Solution

Web-based applications combining multiple data streams with spatial analyses addressing specific use cases.

CARTO VL

JavaScript library interacting with different CARTO APIs to build custom applications leveraging vector rendering.

CARTO.js

JavaScript library interacting with multiple CARTO APIs, part of the CARTO Engine ecosystem.

CARTOcolors

Custom color schemes based on well-known mapping standards with next-generation web and basemap enhancements.

CartoCSS

Syntax language customizing map data styles. Similar to web CSS, CartoCSS targets map symbolizer properties like marker size, color, line patterns, stroke, and text display.

cartodb_id

Primary key for any CARTO dataset used internally and externally for mapping, infowindows, and other functions.

CARTOframes

Python package integrating CARTO maps, analysis, and data services into data science workflows.

Category

Qualitative color scheme selection for styling map layers with string or boolean values.

Category Widget

Builder widgets filtering by selected string columns, configured by aggregated data columns.

Centroid

The geometric center of one or multiple features.

Choropleth Map

Thematic maps where geographic regions display color, shading, or patterns relating to values.

Classification Methods

Methods grouping data into ranges. CARTO supports Quantiles, Jenks, Equal Interval, Heads/Tails, and Category.

Cluster

A group of points sharing similar attributes or coordinates.

Color Scheme

Carefully selected colors aiding storytelling, engaging readers, and visually guiding viewers to uncover patterns.

ColorBrewer

Collection of standard color schemes created by Cynthia Brewer for mapping data.

Credits

One credit consumed per Data Services function call (Analysis, Geocoding, etc.).

CSV

Comma-separated values file format using commas as delimiters for structured text data.

Data Library

Public data library list available from the datasets dashboard, providing connectable public datasets.

Data Observatory

Enterprise-exclusive feature providing curated dataset catalogs enabling result application to user datasets.

Data Services API

Location-based services allowing programmatic customization of visualization data subsets.

Data Source

Original layer data source — in Builder, analysis layer nodes or datasets; in CARTO.js/VL, datasets or SQL queries.

Data Type

Automatically assigned column types (string, number, date, boolean) influencing available map options.

Database

CARTO’s geospatial database backend built on PostgreSQL supporting advanced PostGIS capabilities.

Database Connector

Tools connecting external databases to CARTO accounts, caching external data into CARTO tables.

Dataset

Single database table containing geographic and thematic information.

Dataview

CARTO.js method extracting data from sources in predefined ways depending on column type.

Decimal Degrees

Latitude and longitude geographic coordinates expressed as decimal fractions.

Editor

CARTO’s legacy web-based visualization interface.

Embed Map

CARTO maps embeddable in HTML elements like websites or blogs.

Engine

Open source tool enabling multiple APIs for constructing advanced, dynamic geospatial datasets and scalable custom application maps.

Equal Intervals

Classification method dividing numeric value attribute ranges into equal-sized subranges.

Event

“Things” occurring to HTML elements, either browser-initiated or user-triggered.

Expression

CARTO VL building blocks for styling and dataview-like functionality.

Feature

Single map element (polygon, line, point) representing one dataset row.

Field

Data storage location, typically a database column or web form field.

Filtering

Setting conditions displaying only certain data in datasets or map layers.

Formula Widget

Builder widgets calculating aggregated numeric column values using AVG, MAX, MIN, SUM, and COUNT.

Geocoding

CARTO service matching data with map geometries from Open Data and third-party providers, serving geometries for countries, provinces, cities, postal codes, IP addresses, and streets.

GeoJSON

Open standard format representing simple geographical features with non-spatial attributes, based on JavaScript Object Notation (JSON).

Geometry

Shape (point, line, polygon) representing data’s geographical coordinates.

Geopackage

Open, non-proprietary, platform-independent standards-based geographic information format implemented as SQLite database container.

GIS

System designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data.

Heads/Tails

Classification method ideal for heavy-tailed distributions. Divides values around arithmetic mean repeatedly.

Heatmap

Point data maps showing greater color intensity for larger data density.

Hexbins

Builder feature displaying point geometry data aggregated in hexagonal bins.

Histogram Widget

Widgets examining numerical values within ranges distributed across map data.

Import API

CARTO API allowing file uploads, current status checking, and deletion/listing of importing processes.

Interactivity

Possible user interactions with map features, like click and hover actions.

Intersect

Analytical operation selecting any feature part intersecting with one or more other features.

Isoline

Map line with constant value representation, such as temperature (isotherm), travel time (isochrone), or distance (isodistance).

Jenks

Classification method breaking data into classes by natural groupings, decreasing within-class variance while increasing between-class variance.

Join

GIS operation affixing one feature layer’s attribute table data to another from spatial perspective.

KML

Keyhole Markup Language file format displaying geographic data in Earth browsers like Google Earth.

Labels

Identifying text for map features with typographic properties indicating importance.

Latitude

Geographic coordinate specifying north-south position on Earth’s surface.

Layer

Visual representation of geographic and thematic information contained in datasets.

Layer Node

Builder analysis workflow nodes where analyzed data chains multiple different analysis nodes to single map layers.

Layer Selector

Builder Map Options feature displaying visible layers on visualizations.

Leaflet

JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. CARTO.js integrates with Leaflet for overlay creation.

Legend

Map-overlaying panel defining map symbol meanings through symbols and explanatory text.

Limit

Numerical values set across CARTO platform components ensuring reliability and performance.

Location Data

Data describing location and thematic information of things.

Location Data Stream

Regularly updated location data source from providers connectable to solutions.

Location Intelligence

Discipline transforming location data into business outcomes through enrichment, visualization, and interactive analysis.

Longitude

Geographic coordinate specifying east-west position on Earth’s surface.

Map

Symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between space elements like objects, regions, or themes.

Map Load

Pricing plan inclusion occurring when maps instantiate via Maps API.

Map Projection

Systematic transformation of sphere/ellipsoid surface latitudes and longitudes into plane locations.

MAPS API

CARTO API generating maps from hosted data with custom SQL and CartoCSS application.

Metadata

Data or map descriptions editable in Builder.

Mobile SDK

Cross-platform SDK creating custom maps for mobile applications.

Named Maps

Maps identical to Anonymous Maps except server-stored MapConfig with unique map names.

Normalized Data

Data represented on standard scales, such as population density (population divided by area).

OGR/GDAL

Geospatial Data Abstraction Library reading/writing raster and vector geospatial formats.

Opacity

Property specifying color or image transparency as float values between 0-1.

Open In CARTO

Feature allowing open data web portal imports and map creation.

Open Source

Software with source code released under licenses granting rights to study, change, and distribute.

OpenStreetMap

Collaborative project creating free, editable world maps. Community-contributed, locally knowledgeable, frequently updated.

Overviews

Optimizations for large datasets improving rendering performance through simplified data representations.

Popup

Infowindow containing thematic data from one or multiple map features.

PostGIS

PostgreSQL database spatial objects providing location and mapping information storage and query.

PostgreSQL

Open source relational database management system. CARTO’s geospatial database platform supporting advanced PostGIS capabilities.

Property

CARTO VL expressions referencing source properties.

Proportional Symbols

Map symbols whose size indicates attribute quantity at locations.

Python SDK

Python SDK for interacting with CARTO APIs.

QPS (Queries Per Second)

Amount of queries/requests performable per second.

Quantiles

Classification method with equal feature numbers per class, well-suited to linearly distributed data.

Query

SQL requests to databases.

Quota

Data Services API function limitations based on account plans.

Ramp

TurboCARTO expression generating data-driven gradients for color, opacity, and size.

Raster Tiles

Image or raster tiles rendering map backgrounds from tile services.

Routing

Navigation from defined start to end locations with calculated turn-by-turn directions.

Shapefile

ESRI-created widespread spatial data transfer format. Collections of three or more associated files compressed as ZIP.

Spatial Analysis

Formal techniques studying entities through topological, geometric, or geographic properties.

SQL

Structured Query Language requesting database data.

SQL API

CARTO API allowing table and data interaction as normal database SQL statements.

Square Aggregation

Builder feature displaying point geometry data aggregated in squares.

Static Map/Image

Static CARTO map views generatable via Static Maps API.

Stroke

Map layer styling element containing geometry side width, color, and opacity.

Symbology

Map symbol graphic system using size, color, visual weight, and placement indicating feature meaning.

Sync Tables

Tables storing remote file data with periodic content refreshing.

the_geom

Default CARTO geospatial data storage column displaying latitude and longitude in WGS84 projection.

the_geom_webmercator

Hidden dataset column storing Web Mercator projection data for efficient online map tile rendering.

Time Series Widget

Widgets setting temporal parameters displaying data across time with animation capability.

Toolbar

Navigation interface displayed upon CARTO login.

Torque.js

Efficient and stylish data animation rendering method.

TurboCARTO

CartoCSS preprocessor for styling data-driven maps.

Variable

Named CARTO VL expressions referenceable by other expressions.

Vector Tile

Packets of geographic data packaged as pre-defined roughly-square “tiles” for web transfer.

Visualization

CARTO VL concept unifying styling and dataview-like functionality.

Webmap

Map displayed in browsers seamlessly joining dozens of individually requested image files.

Widget

Dynamic CARTO Builder filter embedded with visualizations without modifying original data.

WMS

Web Map Service standard protocol serving georeferenced map images over Internet.

WMTS

Web Map Tile Service standard protocol serving pre-rendered or runtime-computed georeferenced map tiles.

Zoom Levels

Numeric values typically ranging 1 (global scale) to 18-20 (local scale) representing webmapping scale.