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<body>Hallo Mark
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<div align="left">Great :-)</div>
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<div align="left">Absolutely, we should try to get something useful out of this together.</div>
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<div align="left">What is producing your maps? Mapserver, geoserver?</div>
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<div align="left">I have one longterm-thought about this (seen from my situation as a novice hacker trying my best :-)) , give me a few lines to explain:</div>
<div align="left">I think PostGIS gets too samll attention at least in this part of the world. Here I have focused on two reasons I think is obvious.</div>
<div align="left">1) as I wrote in last post, people doesn't at once see the possibility to use spatial sql-queris for analyses, they just use the spatial database for storing. An online testarea to send everybody little curious could maybe help some of that.</div>
<div align="left">2) I think it is a weakness that almost no webhotels can offer a PostGIS functionality (together with mapserver or Geoserver) and I think one problem is to be able to manage your spatial data on a webhotel. Other data you can manage with phppgAdmin in postgresql. Of cource you can manage spatial data to like that but you will easily get a feeling that you don't have control if you can't easily see your data. So I think maybe the webhotels would be more intrested if there were a web user interface to the spatial data. </div>
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<div align="left">So my plan is to get this tutorial site (not nessesary from my initial approach) running, hoping for people to contribute in the development of the site. That will have a positive effect on PostGIS during this development process and maybe it will give ideas and encourage someone to implement it in for example phppgAdmin. </div>
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<div align="left">It's not illegal to be naive :-)</div>
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<div align="left">/Nicklas<br />
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2009-12-16 Marc Jansen wrote:<br />
<br />
Hi Nicklas, Hi list,<br />
><br />
>I love the idea of trying SQLs in a browser and instantly get a spatial <br />
>result! Actually I have built an OpenLayers [1] client for an upcoming <br />
>book of mine [2] that does this. Furthermore I wanted to transform that <br />
>special bit of code (the interactive terminal and the OpenLayers client) <br />
>into an OpenSource application. Actally I recently submitted a talk to <br />
>the german conference FOSSGIS [3] -- organized by the local german <br />
>chapter FOSSGIS [4] of the OSGEO -- that wants to discuss the project <br />
>and further possible development. The talk is not yet accepted.<br />
><br />
>I took a slightly different appproach (Mainly because the initiual <br />
>application was being developed for the book):<br />
><br />
> * One opens the address of the application in the browser<br />
> * You see a world map (an external WMS) in a minimal OpenLayers-Client<br />
> * below the Map there is a terminal where you can enter more or less<br />
> any SQL<br />
> * Upon submission of the form data is sent via AJAX to aserver side<br />
> script<br />
> * that script does some checking and finally queries the database<br />
> and gioves the result back to the client<br />
> * if the result of the query is a geometry, it gets displayed on<br />
> the map as a vector geometry instantly<br />
> * if the result is a meta-infomation (eg ST_Area, etc.) That Info<br />
> is displayed in the client.<br />
> * There are some restrictions currently (allowed projections, number<br />
> of returned records and the like)<br />
><br />
>I have working code for all of the above, but have to wait to publish <br />
>the details until the book is finally there (that would be February <br />
>2010, hopefully). All the code in the book will be released under the <br />
>BSD license.<br />
><br />
>I see a big potential for an application like that (or the one you <br />
>describe), so please contact me on- or offlist if you see any chance on <br />
>working together on something like this.<br />
><br />
>Best regards,<br />
>Marc<br />
><br />
>PS: Please excuse that I start a new thread because I couldn't reply <br />
>directly to the original email.<br />
><br />
>[1] http://openlayers.org<br />
>[2] german only: <br />
>http://www.amazon.de/OpenLayers-Webentwicklung-dynamischen-Karten-Geodaten/dp/3937514929/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260946463&sr=8-1<br />
>[3] http://www.fossgis.de/konferenz/wiki/Main_Page<br />
>[4] http://www.fossgis.de/<br />
><br />
><br />
><br />
><br />
>Original email from Nicklas:<br />
>Hallo<br />
><br />
>I have had an idea about a site where people can try and test postgis <br />
>online.<br />
>Working with spatial data in db-environment I think a lot of people <br />
>seems like abstract and maybe suspect and<br />
>their picture of analyse spatial data is often tightly connected to some <br />
>Arc-products.<br />
><br />
>So, now I have come up with something as a start.<br />
><br />
>The basic idea is that a sql-string generates a view or a table that <br />
>mapserver produces a transparent gif-image from.<br />
>The idea of working with transparent images is that you can produce many <br />
>(three in the application of today) images that will be put on top of <br />
>each other. The first defines the extent and the others will be showed <br />
>on top.<br />
><br />
> From this concept I continued and found a way of easily producing <br />
>tutorials.<br />
>The idea is that a tutorial (defined by some objects in a html-file) <br />
>controls 4 objects in the window (see attached picture):<br />
>* the text in a describing text -holder to the right in the screen<br />
>* the text in the sql-string text area, so the user can just click a <br />
>button to see the result, modify it and try again<br />
>* Background map, One of the maps in the dataabse, shown "as is" in full <br />
>extent or in extent defined by Map1<br />
>* An image, it is possible to, instead of the map give the url to an <br />
>image. Might b convinient for showing something in the tutorial<br />
><br />
> From this tools it should be easy, bith to present all the PostGIS <br />
>functions and explain new things like Geography-type or wkt-raster.<br />
><br />
>I think it could give many sql-gurus an aha-experiense to see the <br />
>possibilities of analysing spatial data with sql.<br />
><br />
>I have bought postgisonline.org for the purpose. (Thought it was best <br />
>buying it before discussing it in public :-)<br />
>There is also other suggestions but I don't know if that was an option <br />
>for sure or just maybe . I have no opinion in that question.<br />
>Does it sound interesting?<br />
>I would like it all to be open source. Do I haev to but some special <br />
>text in the files. Do I/we risk anything if I just dump it all to this <br />
>list?<br />
><br />
>about the attached pictures:<br />
>* the artistic example is Reginas example in documentation to <br />
>st_longestline, buffered with 1, 2 respective 5 units on top of eachother<br />
>* picture.jpeg is the page 2 of a tutorial shoving what it looks like. <br />
>Not very fancy, but I'm little alergic to heavy fanciness on the web.<br />
> But should maybe be little more good looking with colors and so on.<br />
><br />
>Regards<br />
>Nicklas<br />
>_______________________________________________<br />
>postgis-devel mailing list<br />
>postgis-devel@postgis.refractions.net<br />
>http://postgis.refractions.net/mailman/listinfo/postgis-devel<br />
><br />
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