Mapserver <=> ArcIMS comparison

[imap at chesapeake.net]

Thanks to Michael and others who commented on this thread
for the detailed comparison of MapServer <=> ArcIMS.    It sounds as if the 
ArcIMS "New MapService" is fairly easy to use and setup a new mapserver 
configuration.   THat is something that Mapserver is sorely lacking.  Needed 
are a set of screens that a user can walk thru, to setup a map service.  
Digging a little deeper into this comparison,  I am particularly interested to 
see a working example of the ArcIMS Map File equivilent (*.axl) for
informational 
purposes.  I understand that it is XML...  and I'd like to had a look at their 
definitions, scope, syntax etc.   If anyone out there has a one of these files, 
could they please send or upload a sample .axl, it would be appreciated.

Regards,

Chris Stuber (mapsurfer)
Silicon Mapping Solutions, Inc
(410)257-3187



Michael Anderson wrote:
> 
>     I have been using both ArcIMS and MapServer for a few months. Before I
> give my opinion on a comparison, I would like to point out that the scope of
> what ArcIMS and MapServer attempt to do is different. ArcIMS has several
> components designed to do things that MapServer alone doesn’t address. This
> includes html and applet based viewers for the client as well as several
> components on the server. The components on the server include the
> application server, manager components, and the spatial servers. The spatial
> server is what renders the images, handles spatial queries, extracts
> features, etc. The manager components allow you to build “Map Services” (map
> files), create web sites using the map services, and publish the sites.  The
> application server allows you to distribute pieces of your application over
> multiple machines and pool several machines to handle increased loads.  It
> also allows you to use COM and Cold Fusion in your application as the
> “connector” between the web server and application server. ArcIMS has two
> additional components that start and stop processes and delete images on a
> schedule.
>         MapServer alone is only analogous to the spatial server, but the other
> features can be added using other tools. Other than being able to use fewer
> data formats, MapServer is a better spatial server than ArcIMS’s. By using
> an existing web application server you can get the additional functionality
> with a minimal amount of work. I am using Zope, which is Python based, as my
> application server. It is also Open Source. It is a much better application
> server than the ArcIMS component. In addition to allowing you to distribute
> your application, and pool machines, it also handles user authentication,
> and gives Unix like permissions to files, URLs, and operations. It also
> handles publishing the sites easily. I haven’t gotten around to using it to
> make the map files or the web site though. I use ArcView to make the map
> files and have someone else make the web site. Zope does allow me to share
> single html and JavaScript files across multiple web sites, which makes
> maintenance a lot easier. It is also possible to use Zope as a connector to
> ArcIMS so a single application could use both MapServer and ArcIMS (as well
> as other GIS engines). I am also aware of a Java based application server
> called Enhydra that is also Open Source. I have installed it, but haven’t
> had much time to use it, so I can’t really say what it can do. There are
> also commercial application servers available like IBM’s WebSphere. You
> could probably do a lot with Cold Fusion as well.
> 
> That said, here is my 2 cents on the advantages and disadvantages of ArcIMS:
> 
> Advantages of ArcIMS
> - distribute applications over multiple machines
> - Native integration with the Geography Network. MapServer can be made to
> work within the geography network.
> - Includes software to handle routine tasks like making the map services
> (map files), designing web sites, etc.
> - Supports more data formats – especially raster
> - Better support for storing spatial data in RDBMS through SDE
> - You don’t have to try to sell a relatively unknown product (MapServer) and
> philosophy (Open Source)
> 
> Disadvantages of ArcIMS
> - speed (even running mapserv as regular cgi it is much faster)
> - resource hog
> - limited OS (no Linux)
> - less stable. My ArcIMS experience is on NT so that may be more a
> reflection of the OS than ArcIMS.
> - poorer support
> - source code unavailable
> - cost
> 
> Mike
> 
> Michael Anderson
> Spatial Information Technologies, Inc.