What distinguishes a tile layer from a map image layer?

The correct answer identifies that tile layers are often hosted by the system, which allows them to be served over the web in a way that optimally supports performance and scalability. Tile layers are generated as predefined image tiles that can be efficiently loaded and displayed by clients, making them suitable for large datasets and frequently accessed maps.

Tile layers are typically pre-rendered and stored as sets of image files (tiles) for specified zoom levels and geographic extents, allowing for rapid loading and interaction. This hosting capability ensures that a wide audience can access the map services without burdening individual end-users with the need to process or render the data locally.

In contrast, map image layers are often dynamically rendered on the fly, which can impact performance, especially with large or complex datasets. They may also involve a greater resource requirement for individual users accessing them, as each user's device may need to handle substantial processing tasks.

The other options, while they might relate to general properties of tile layers versus map image layers, do not specifically highlight the key distinction about the hosting capabilities. For instance, higher resolution does not inherently define tile layers against map image layers, and tile layers do not allow modifications after publishing like some other data types may, which can lead to confusion. Additionally