Page History

You can find detailed information about OpenLR from several reputable sources:

1. Wikipedia

The OpenLR Wikipedia page provides a comprehensive overview of the standard, its development, and its applications [1].

2. Official OpenLR Website

The OpenLR official website offers extensive information about the method, including documentation, implementation guides, and contact details for further inquiries [2].

3. INRIX Documentation

INRIX provides documentation on Dynamic Location Referencing, which includes details about OpenLR and its implementation tools [3].

These resources should give you a solid foundation to understand and implement OpenLR. 

References
[1] OpenLR - Wikipedia
[2] OpenLR
[3] Dynamic Location Referencing - INRIX documentation

🔎 What is OpenLR (in simple terms)?

OpenLR is a method to describe a road location (like a route or a point) in a compact, map-agnostic format, so it can be decoded across different map systems.

It's useful for:

• Traffic alerts

• Speed limit data

• Road works

• Any road-based data shared between different systems (e.g., TomTom → Google Maps)

🧱 Basic Idea

Instead of giving exact GPS points or road names (which may differ across maps), OpenLR uses:

• A few location reference points (LRPs) (with coordinates, road type, direction)

• Some extra info like length, bearing, and form of road

That’s enough to figure out the road path on any map that has similar roads.

📚 Where to Read More

✅ Official Specs & Docs

• OpenLR Specification PDF
  👉 https://www.openlr.org/technical/openlr-whitepaper.pdf
  (Very detailed but readable if you have some technical background)

• GitHub Repository (TomTom Reference Implementation)
  👉 https://github.com/TomTom-Tools/OpenLR
  (Has sample encoder/decoder code and examples)

🛠 Tools to Try

• OpenLR Test Encoder/Decoder Tool (Java) from GitHub
  → You can run this locally to test OpenLR references.

• JOSM (OSM Editor) + GPS traces
  → You can visualize LRPs on a map for checking decoder results.

👶 Easy to Start

If you're new:

1. Read page 3–5 of the OpenLR whitepaper – it gives a good summary.

2. Try decoding an example reference using the GitHub tools.

3. Visualize the results on OpenStreetMap to see if it matches.

Here are the best places to learn more about OpenLR, whether you're just starting or digging deeper into implementation:

📚 Official Resources

1. OpenLR Homepage

🔗 openlr.org

• Overview of the method, benefits, and licensing

• Links to the whitepaper, license, and errata

2. OpenLR Whitepaper

📄  File: openlr-whitepaper_v1.5.pdf

• The full technical specification (latest is version 1.5 revision 2)

• Explains encoding logic, location types, physical formats

📄 Also check the Errata for bug fixes and clarifications

3. GitHub Reference Implementation

🔗 github.com/tomtom-international/openlr

• Open-source Java implementation by TomTom

• Includes encoder, decoder, test examples, map interface

💬 Community and Q&A

🔍 Stack Overflow

Search: OpenLR

• Community debugging tips, edge cases, format usage

🛠️ Other Practical Tools

• JOSM (for OpenStreetMap): You can overlay decoded paths

• QGIS or Leaflet.js: For rendering paths from decoded OpenLR

📨 Get In Touch

📧 Contact the OpenLR Association:
https://www.openlr.org/contact/
They respond to usage questions and membership inquiries.