Mapserver Web service questions

[Ed McNierney]

Andy -

Please start by reading the WMS Client and Server documentation, which
you can find at http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/doc.html - it's very simple
to use.

        - Ed

Ed McNierney
President and Chief Mapmaker
TopoZone.com / Maps a la carte, Inc.
73 Princeton Street, Suite 305
North Chelmsford, MA  01863
ed at topozone.com
(978) 251-4242  

-----Original Message-----
From: UMN MapServer Users List [mailto:MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU] On
Behalf Of ANDY CANFIELD
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 11:56 AM
To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU
Subject: Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] Mapserver Web service questions

Ed,
That is essentially what I was looking for.

So I can send and http request to it via a small device and have it
return an image directly?
Or does it put the image in a directory on the server from which I must
retrieve it via an io stream?

(
If I go the web service route it will be a MIDlet on a phone making the
request then embeding the image on the MIDlet's displayable canvas much
like ROSA does in Applet context. However ROSA pulls from a link
essentially to where the image has been created on the server.
)

Also in the GET request how do you specify layers off or on etc? Or do
you have to send a PUT type request first to configure the output that a
GET will return?

So far I have only used the php Interface so my knowlege of the actual
Mapserver itself is weak.
Thanks,
Andy


>From: Ed McNierney <ed at TOPOZONE.COM>
>Reply-To: Ed McNierney <ed at TOPOZONE.COM>
>To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU
>Subject: Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] Mapserver Web service questions
>Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 11:01:57 -0400
>
>Andy -
>
>"Web service" is a pretty loose term; do you have specific interface 
>constraints (i.e. a particular interface model, etc.)?  MapServer 
>natively supports the OGC Web Map Service (WMS) that provides a very 
>nice, simple way to make an HTTP GET request that returns a image file 
>in the requested format.  Such a request can be easily used in, for 
>example, the "src=" property of an <IMG> tag on the requesting page.  
>It can, of course, also be used in more complex environments where the 
>client/requester is a different sort of application than a simple HTML 
>viewer.
>
>         - Ed
>
>Ed McNierney
>President and Chief Mapmaker
>TopoZone.com / Maps a la carte, Inc.
>73 Princeton Street, Suite 305
>North Chelmsford, MA  01863
>ed at topozone.com
>(978) 251-4242
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: UMN MapServer Users List [mailto:MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU] 
>On Behalf Of ANDY CANFIELD
>Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 10:45 AM
>To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU
>Subject: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] Mapserver Web service questions
>
>To anyone who may know,
>         Can Mapserver be used like a web service?
>Here is my situation. I have a small device that I want to show maps
on.
>There are two ways I can do this as the device has a browser I can make

>a small web page for it, or to give it more functionality I can write 
>an embeded app that displays maps from a web service.
>
>So what I need to know is can Mapserver be used like a web service or 
>do I need to write a web service that acts as the interface to
Mapserver?
>
>I am using Mapserver for Windows and currently it's set up with php 
>Mapscript for my web maps.
>If I can use Mapserver as a service can I use the same one I'm running 
>php Mapscript against?
>
>If not and I write a service is it safe to target the same Mapserver as

>php is using via it's Mapscript interface?
>
>If it helps any the device sending the requests will be a Nextel 
>Blackberry.
>The language of the app sitting on the device will be J2ME ( Java Micro

>Edition ). The service itself if I have to write one will be in C++.
>
>Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>Andy
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search!
>http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/

_________________________________________________________________
Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search!
http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/