[GRASSLIST:4015] Re: Is Grass what I need?

[francesco]

Hi Lawrence,

I am not a GRASS developer but an avid user of GRASS and other opensource 
software.

I am just on the end-line of a project which might be  somewhat similar to 
what you need.

I basically used GRASS to import and digitize vector data of boundaries and 
locations, and I used PostgreSQL database to keep all the attributes 
connected to the vector data thus having a valid database platform for the 
possibility of reports and queries.
Mapserver  and phpPgAdmin were the "internet window" for clients who do not 
have access to the main programs, providing read only access to the vector 
data and read-write to the database attributes.

I had to do this to georeference archeological data which already had an 
Access database full of information, with reports and all.   By selecting 
an element in GRASS an internet browser pops up with the corresponding 
database element, and by doing a query in the PostgreSQL database the 
corresponding vector element is highlighted.  The same tasks can be done 
using the Mapserver Web-GIS  as the viewer for GIS data.

I did run on some problems which might not be of any importance to you, but 
did provide some pain (printing nice layouts is an herculean task, color 
classification of vector elements takes a day... );

I would say that GIS is what you are looking for, and GRASS and  Mapserver 
can provide you with the possibility, keeping in mind that you might have 
to do some programming yourself.

If you need more details send me a mail.

Ciao
Francesco


At 10.45 24/07/2004 +0200, Lawrence Strydom wrote:
>Hi List,
>
>I am completely new to the world of GIS and would appreciate any input
>from you old and wise GIS users.
>
>Basically what I need to do is create a map depicting a network of roads
>in a large geographical area. ( about the size of France) I will not be
>using any relief maps so it is 2D data only. Now the map must be
>accessible through a web browser, the user will have to be able to click
>and zoom in to the required area of the map and add data or read data
>which was added by other users. The data will not alter the propperties of
>the map in any way but will simply be text which referrences a specific
>point on the road. Eg: If a section of the road is in need of a specific
>type of repair, then the inspector needs to be able to through his mobile
>device access the map on the internet, click on that section of the road
>and enter the text that states the road conditions at that point into a
>form. THe coordinator back at HQ should then be able to read this and take
>action accordingly.
>Just to make things a bit more interesting, all roads must be defined and
>enterred in to a database against which reports can be run. Eg. a report
>requesting the amount of potholes between town A and town B on route X.
>
>As I said, I am not sure that I really need a GIS system to do this. If
>anybody on this list has done anything simmilar or have any ideas, I would
>love to hear from you!
>
>Thanks in advance
>
>--
>Lawrence Strydom
>Open Source Software Solutions Consultant
>email: jls at midafrica.com
>web: www.rpcdata.co.za
>           www.midafrica.com
>Tel: +27 (0)44 8770453
>Tel: +27 (0)21 4210882
>Mobile: 0833809341
>
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