= !GeoWebCache is a cache for WMS tiles implemented in Java. =

== Introduction ==
Maps are often static.  As most mapping clients render [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Map_Service WMS] (Web Map Service) data every time they are queried, this can result in unnecessary processing and increased wait times.  !GeoWebCache optimizes this experience by saving (caching) map tiles as they are requested, in effect acting as a proxy between client (such as [http://www.openlayers.org OpenLayers] or Google Maps) and server (such as [http://geoserver.org GeoServer], or any WMS-compliant server).  As new maps and tiles are requested, !GeoWebCache intercepts these calls and returns pre-rendered tiles if stored, or calls the server to render new tiles as necessary.  Thus, once tiles are stored, the speed of map rendering increases many times, making for a more seamless user experience.

{{{
#!html
<div style="float: right;">
<a href="http://2010.foss4g.org/"><img src="http://2010.foss4g.org/images/logo_120x90.jpg" /></a></div> <div style="float: left;">
}}}
[[Image(gwc_medium.png)]]
{{{
#!html
</div> 
}}}

  * To use !GeoWebCache you need to install [http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp Sun's JRE (version 1.5 or 1.6)] and a Java Servlet Server such as [http://tomcat.apache.org/ Apache Tomcat]. 
  * !GeoWebCache is one of the easiest ways to accelerate your WMS mapping server and provide data for clients like [wiki:google_maps Google Maps], [wiki:virtual_earth Virtual Earth] and [wiki:google_earth Google Earth].
  * WMS clients that do not support tiling can be used by recombining cached tiles.
  * !GeoWebCache can serve tiles fast enough to saturate a 100 Mbps connection on even modest hardware and gigabit on server class machines.
  * !GeoWebCache got its start as [http://code.google.com/p/jtilecache/ JTilecache], a Google Summer of Code project by Chris Whitney, but has since evolved significantly .  It is currently developed by [http://opengeo.org OpenGeo], the geospatial division of [http://www.openplans.org OpenPlans].  

== March 3rd, 2010 - Version 1.2.2 released == 

'''Read the [wiki:Version1.2.2 release notes] , [https://sourceforge.net/projects/geowebcache/files/ DOWNLOAD]'''

[wiki:Release_History Previous versions]

Nightly builds of trunk [http://gridlock.opengeo.org/geowebcache/ can be found here], or you can [http://geowebcache.org/docs/current/development/index.html build your own].

Want to know what is coming? [wiki:roadmap See the roadmap / menu page]


== Documentation ==

You can find the [http://geowebcache.org/docs/current/ documentation here], additionally there are [http://geowebcache.org/trac/wiki/Documentation some old snippets here].

Efforts are underway to translate the [wiki:de/Documentation documentation to german], these have not yet been converted into reStructured text.

== Mailing Lists ==

|| '''Users''' || [http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum_name=geowebcache-users Archives] || [http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/geowebcache-users Subscribe] ||
|| '''Developers''' ||[http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum_name=geowebcache-devel Archives] || [http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/geowebcache-devel Subscribe] ||

The mailinglists above can also be used [http://old.nabble.com/GeoWebCache-Users-f32401.html through Nabble].

== IRC ==

|| '''Server''' || [irc://irc.freenode.net/ irc.freenode.net] ||
|| '''Channel''' || #geoserver ||

'''Note:'''  As this is a channel not specifically aimed at !GeoWebCache, please mention it explicitly when asking questions.

== License ==

!GeoWebCache is open source and released under the [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html GNU General Public License].