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<div>G'day Steve,</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Some feedback - I hope this doesn't seem ostentatious from a minor contributor to the MapServer Project, but I have learnt alot from scratch in the last few years, and have multiple systems running on multiple platforms using multiple data sources, so I have a strong sense of how difficult it can be to find and learn mapserver, and think this would be a very worthy project.</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>On 04/01/2008, at 3:01 PM, MAPSERVER-USERS automatic digest system wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>From: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Steve Lime <<a href="mailto:Steve.Lime@DNR.STATE.MN.US">Steve.Lime@DNR.STATE.MN.US</a>></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Date: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">4 January 2008 4:50:58 AM</font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Subject: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>New MapServer Demo (feedback requested)</b></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><br></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><br></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Hi all: I've got some time to put together a new demo for MapServer and would to get feedback from</font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">the community on what it should look like. Currently there are a number of options out there but none</font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">of them are very comprehensive. Demos that I know about include:</font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- the Itasca demo application (came out of the MUM1 meeting): <a href="http://maps.dnr.state.mn.us/mapserver_demos/workshop-5.0/">http://maps.dnr.state.mn.us/mapserver_demos/workshop-5.0/</a></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- Perry Nacionales' MapServer tutorial: <a href="http://biometry.gis.umn.edu/tutorial/">http://biometry.gis.umn.edu/tutorial/</a></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- Mobile Geographics' MapServer Recipies: <a href="http://www.mobilegeographics.com/mapserver/">http://www.mobilegeographics.com/mapserver/</a></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- MN DNR MapServer Test Suite: <a href="http://maps.dnr.state.mn.us/mapserver_demos/tests46/">http://maps.dnr.state.mn.us/mapserver_demos/tests46/</a></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- Various MS4W packages: <a href="http://www.maptools.org/ms4w/index.phtml">http://www.maptools.org/ms4w/index.phtml</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p></blockquote><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>there was also a powerpoint I found from DM Solutions for php mapscript that is an excellent tutorial - I assume there are files that go with it. it was called php_mapscript_mum2. I would also like to raise my own vote of thanks to Pericles for his tutorial - I still refer to it!</div><br><blockquote type="cite"> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">There are of course lots of questions:</font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- should a demo be installable, hosted or both</font></p></blockquote><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>at least installable (I assume you mean onto a user's computer.) This would probably require some serious clarification about how paths and permissions are defined to be multi platform, but it is likely to form the basis for many mapserver installations down the line.</div><br><blockquote type="cite"> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- what data should it use</font></p></blockquote><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>As mentioned by many others, a small consistent (downloadable) set of data (at least a small shapefile and a small raster) with some demonstration mapfiles and html templates (I'm thinking of one like Pericles here) which could be used throughout the whole book.</div><br><blockquote type="cite"> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- should it cover just MapServer configuration (e.g. mapfiles)</font></p></blockquote><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>No - should also have some detail on all aspects of using mapserver - from efficient querying through good user interfaces to security.</div><br><blockquote type="cite"> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- should it cover installation as well or should that be left to how-to's</font></p></blockquote><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Assuming you produce this online - I would see the how-to's becoming part of the whole package.</div><br><blockquote type="cite"> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- what relationship to other packages (e.g. OpenLayers, TileCache, Ka-map) should be demo'd</font></p></blockquote><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></div><div>Other's have suggested this already, but I would see something like a book (in a "wiki-fied" sense) which could be built and edited as people were prepared to contribute :</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><div>Part I Mapserv CGI demo</div><div>Part II mapscript flavours </div><div>Part III applications / frameworks (the Geomoose / Ka-map etc stuff)</div><div>Part IV Data Sources</div><div>Part V dealing with platform differences</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>This doesn't really look so different to the current mapserver documentation index - perhaps it just needs some rearranging content.</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Obviously there are many people out there who could contribute who know much more than I do, but I would be happy to help where I could.</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>cheers</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Ben</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br></div></div><br><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; 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