Hi,
I have a list of polygons (each built of multiple points: Lat/Lon coorinates). I would like to have them rendered on top of OSM map, and have this image saved to a file. What would be the best approach? Do I need to set up Mapnik?
I must admit I’m a bit overwhelmed by all the features & possible usage scenarios of OSM, so please excuse me the noob question.
Thanks in advance
You can use OpenLayers or render locally with maperitive or similar programs.
http://maperitive.net
Or you can convert your polygons in GPX tracks and use gpsies.com to display
them on top of a OSM map.
Chris
Currently I have embedded OpenLayers on my website and draw Polygons manually (custom JS / PHP communication service). This is fine but just for the browsing of data. I’d like to have an option to render high-resolution image.
Maperative doesn’t seem to be a solution, I’ve just played with it and - when it comes to exporting - what it does is basically the same as PrintScreen. It just exports the currently displayed map.
If there are any other libraries or tools, please recommend it 
You can also have a look at the OSM wiki at http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Rendering
Tell us what program or framework comes near your aims, and maybe we can help you in detail.
Mapnik seems to be fine, since it might be used from python.
My question is - how can I combine my polygons to a OSM map?
If you render everything with mapnik you could add them to your database (comparable to the polygons drawn from OSM data), and make some mapnik rules to draw them how you want.
(I know here is a GPX renderer in mapnik which can read track files and plot them - maybe there is something similar for polygons.)
-peter