computer science

ID (software)

ID (software) is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ID (software) rather than just read about it. In short: iD is a free software online editor for OpenStreetMap (OSM) geodata created in JavaScript and released in 2013. It is the most popular and the default editor on the main OSM page. iD's features include choosing custom aerial imagery and native support for Mapillary photos.

Key takeaways

ID (software) belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ID (software) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ID (software) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

iD is a free software online editor for OpenStreetMap (OSM) geodata created in JavaScript and released in 2013. It is the most popular and the default editor on the main OSM page. iD's features include choosing custom aerial imagery and native support for Mapillary photos.

History Prior to iD, the primary web editor for OpenStreetMap data was the Flash-based Potlatch 2 editor. The iD editor project was founded by the author of Potlatch 1 and 2, Richard Fairhurst, online on July 13, 2012 and at the State of the Map conference on October 14, 2012. In September 2012, the Knight Foundation announced the winners of the Knight News Challenge: Data competition. The team from Development Seed/Mapbox was selected as a winner for their proposal to develop new contribution tools for OpenStreetMap and was awarded a grant of $575,000. This editor was meant to be a Potlatch 2 architecture reimplementation in JavaScript with redesigned user interface. The only big internal change was a departure from XML tagging preset architecture to a JSON-based one. In 2013, iD became the default editor on OSM.org, making it the most used OSM editor by changeset count.

Forks iD has spawned several forks for specialized use cases. In 2018, Facebook created RapiD, with provided access to machine learning–generated roads and buildings under the name MapWithAI, which users could verify before uploading to OSM. In 2023, RapiD was renamed Rapid and MapWithAI renamed Rapid Assist.

References

External links

Official website iD version archive

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ID (software)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ID (software) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ID (software) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ID (software) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ID (software)

In research: ID (software) appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ID (software) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ID (software) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Free GIS software, OpenStreetMap, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ID (software) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study ID (software) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ID (software) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ID (software) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ID (software) in simple terms?

Why does ID (software) matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ID (software)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ID (software).