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Alan,<br>
<br>
Thank you for your MapServer documentation. You have done a good
job listing the mapserver features. I have suggestions for a couple
more.<br>
I think the introductory section undersells the great value of
MapServer.<br>
Note that we are writing mainly to new GIS users who are not
programmers, and previous GIS experience may be limited to using Google
Maps.<br>
I suggest having a look at the gvsig or mapguide overview docs which do
an excellent job of marketing from a user point of view.<br>
<br>
I've added my comments in italics below:<br>
<br>
<div class="section" id="mapserver">
<h1>MapServer<a class="headerlink"
href="imap://cameron%2Eshorter%40gmail%2Ecom@imap.gmail.com:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/Drafts%3E2024?part=1.2&filename=mapserver_overview.html"
title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<div class="section" id="web-service">
<h2>Web Service<a class="headerlink"
href="imap://cameron%2Eshorter%40gmail%2Ecom@imap.gmail.com:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/Drafts%3E2024?part=1.3&filename=mapserver_overview.html"
title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<p>MapServer is an <a class="reference external"
href="http://www.opensource.org">Open Source</a> geographic data
rendering engine written in C.<br>
</p>
<p><i>Cameron: I'm don't feel the above sentence is clear, or sells
mapserver to its fullest. Maybe "MapServer is an established and robust
web
service for publishing geospatial maps from a multitude of source
formats, through multiple standard interfaces. </i>"<br>
</p>
<p><i>Cameron: In the next line or two, I suggest talking about how
easy it is for a new user to publish their maps using Mapserver and how
users can then see the maps in a web page, or from a client using one
of the many standard interfaces. Are there any drag-and-drop type
configuration tools? If so, mention them. Then talk about APIs for
programming.</i><br>
</p>
<p>Beyond browsing GIS data, MapServer
allows you create “geographic image maps”, that is, maps that can
direct users to content.<br>
</p>
<p><i>Cameron: It is not clear (to me or a new user) what a "geogrpah
image map" is. You will need to explain its value to a user, or remove
above line. Eg "... a "geographic image map, which allows users to ..."</i><br>
</p>
<p>For example, the Minnesota DNR <a class="reference external"
href="http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/compass.html">Recreation Compass</a>
provides users with more than 10,000 web pages, reports and maps via a
single application. The same application serves as a “map engine” for
other portions of the site, providing spatial context where needed.<br>
<i>Cameron: The above sentence should to be introduced from the user
benefit point of view. Eg: "Mapserver can serve up large volumes of
data with ease. For example, the Minnesota DNR ..."</i><br>
</p>
<p>MapServer was originally developed by the University of Minnesota
(UMN) ForNet project in cooperation with NASA, and the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR). Later it was hosted by the
TerraSIP project, a NASA sponsored project between the UMN and a
consortium of land management interests.<br>
<i>Cameron: Again, good content, what is the benefit to the user here?
Maybe start with "MapServer is an establish, stable project, with a
large international community of developers. MapServer started
development in the mid 1990s by the University of Minnesota ..."</i><br>
</p>
<p>MapServer is now a project of <a class="reference external"
href="http://www.osgeo.org">OSGeo</a>, and is maintained by a growing
number of developers (nearing 20) from around the world. It is
supported by a diverse group of organizations that fund enhancements
and maintenance, and administered within OSGeo by the MapServer Project
Steering Committee made up of developers and other contributors.<br>
<i>Cameron: I don't think it necessary to explain the relationship with
OSGeo here as we are not following the template and new users will not
understand the benefit of OSGeo association. I'd also not mention the
PSC, as new users are not likely to be interested in how a project is
run.</i><br>
</p>
<div class="section" id="core-features">
<h3>Core Features<a class="headerlink"
href="imap://cameron%2Eshorter%40gmail%2Ecom@imap.gmail.com:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/Drafts%3E2024?part=1.4&filename=mapserver_overview.html"
title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
<ul class="simple">
<li><i>Cameron: Add a high level list of standard web based mapping
features, so a new user can realise that they will get maps in a web
page. Also a high level list of features which help users configure
maps - I assume they exist.</i><br>
</li>
<li>Advanced cartographic output
<ul>
<li>Scale dependent feature drawing and application execution</li>
<li>Feature labeling including label collision mediation</li>
<li>Fully customizable, template driven output</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>TrueType fonts
<ul>
<li>Map element automation (scalebar, reference map, and legend)</li>
<li>Thematic mapping using logical- or regular expression-based
classes</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Support for popular scripting and development environments
<ul>
<li>PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, Java, and .NET</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Cross-platform support
<ul>
<li>Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, and more</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>A multitude of raster and vector data formats
<ul>
<li>TIFF/GeoTIFF, EPPL7, and many others via GDAL</li>
<li>ESRI shapfiles, PostGIS, ESRI ArcSDE, Oracle Spatial, MySQL
and OGR</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Map projection support
<ul>
<li>On-the-fly map projection with 1000s of projections through
the Proj.4 library</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section" id="implemented-standards">
<h3>Implemented Standards<a class="headerlink"
href="imap://cameron%2Eshorter%40gmail%2Ecom@imap.gmail.com:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/Drafts%3E2024?part=1.5&filename=mapserver_overview.html"
title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
<ul class="simple">
<li>Support of numerous Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards
<ul>
<li>WMS (client/server), non-transactional WFS (client/server),
WMC, WCS, Filter Encoding, SLD, GML, SOS, OM</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section" id="demo">
<h3>Demo<a class="headerlink"
href="imap://cameron%2Eshorter%40gmail%2Ecom@imap.gmail.com:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/Drafts%3E2024?part=1.6&filename=mapserver_overview.html"
title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
<ul class="simple">
<li><a class="reference external"
href="http://localhost/mapserver_demos/itasca/">Itasca</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section" id="documentation">
<h3>Documentation<a class="headerlink"
href="imap://cameron%2Eshorter%40gmail%2Ecom@imap.gmail.com:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/Drafts%3E2024?part=1.7&filename=mapserver_overview.html"
title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
<ul class="simple">
<li><a class="reference external"
href="file:///usr/local/share/mapserver/doc/index.html">MapServer
5.6.5 Documentation</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section" id="details">
<h3>Details<a class="headerlink"
href="imap://cameron%2Eshorter%40gmail%2Ecom@imap.gmail.com:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/Drafts%3E2024?part=1.8&filename=mapserver_overview.html"
title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
<p><strong>Website:</strong> <a class="reference external"
href="http://www.mapserver.org/">http://www.mapserver.org/</a></p>
<p><strong>Licence:</strong> <a class="reference external"
href="http://mapserver.org/copyright.html#license">MIT-style license</a></p>
<p><strong>Software Version:</strong> 5.6.5</p>
<p><strong>Supported Platforms:</strong> Windows, Linux, Mac</p>
<p><strong>API Interfaces:</strong> C, PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, Java,
and .NET</p>
<p><strong>Support:</strong> <a class="reference external"
href="http://mapserver.org/community/">http://mapserver.org/community/</a></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Director
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.lisasoft.com">http://www.lisasoft.com</a>
</pre>
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