[Incubator] GeoMoose

[Blammo]

Paul,

Moose has actaully been around for over three years, you're actually
looking at the third complete re-write of the package, before Google
maps even.  It all started from my own completely server side code base
in perl actually, which I started in 1998.

One big difference is the fact that Moose can handle many, mnay layers
at once (we've got a catalog of over 130 layers at the city right now)
with ease.   Another aspect is it's non-reliance and any server type,
while we've built against MapServer it can also be extended to any
server side engine with relative ease.   An additional important aspect
is the ease with which it can have services added to it from other
sources.   Each service is treated just like a data layer and the
configuration steps have about the same level of complication as adding
a data layer (very easy)   The whole user interface is also set up to
initialize from a XML file, we call it a MapBook, which list out the
layers, tools and default views, etc.   This offers the Site
administrator, the option of setting up systems for building complete
interfaces to people who wouldn't need to be GIS or IS specialists.
There is still a lot of fleshing out to do here, but the base components
are already in place.  Lastly, all layera are normalized behind the
scenes, treated as a data stack all by themselves, in the case of
MapServer for example, each layer has it's own MapFile and this is
managed by it's own data custodian.  Future plans are to add in Web
automation to this aspect, possibly with other already existing Mapfile
builders that are open source.  While Moose looks on the surface like
other packages out there, you will find that it is much more robust in
it's configuration, even though it's new on the scene.

We've been looking at OpenLayers recently for the rendering engine, this
would get us Tiled mapping, which is proving slower than our single tile
setup.  More testing is needed though, Open Layers would also get us
some additional readin and writing formats that look like a big plus.
All that being said, I believe it will happen eventually that we will be
using OpenLayers in some form or another.

One last item to point out, is the fact that Moose has the beginnings of
a 3D rendering system already in place, that we think is a good balance
at resolution vs data distribution.  It's currently in Alpha form and
has not had much play in the way of promotion, but it is functional.

Lots I left out here, but I hope it gets you (all) thinking about some
of the differences.

bobb


Paul Spencer wrote:
> Hi Bob ..
>
> a couple of quick questions that might help clarify things for me:
>
> 1) can you describe why you chose to create a new AJAX framework 
> rather than leverage an existing one like MapBuilder?  As MapBuilder 
> is already an incubated project, it is important to differentiate your 
> project from MapBuilder in particular.
>
> 2) can you describe if and how you plan integrate with other OSGeo 
> projects, such as OpenLayers.
>
> Cheers
>
> Paul
>
> On 28-Apr-03, at 12:40 PM, Blammo wrote:
>
>> All,
>>
>> Hello,  I made it onto the list finally, using my own Email instead 
>> of the Cities, must be caught somewhere in the Email quarantine 
>> somewhere.
>>
>> First off, thanks for looking at GeoMoose.
>>
>> We (The GeoMoose Team) feel that there is an audience out there for 
>> our package and that OSGEO is a good fit for promoting and 
>> integrating it into a larger GIS code stack and user base.
>>
>> I think that GeoMoose will come up short on a couple of the points in 
>> the application questionnaire, but I also believe it will come up to 
>> acceptable levels very quickly.  One big reason for going the 
>> Incubation route, was that it was the only method of getting official 
>> OSGEO sanctioning.   I agree with the statements on the osgeo-discuss 
>> list about trying to set up another lower level of participation than 
>> "Incubation", as a possible prerequisite to Incubation.  I would 
>> rather see the ideas list for new project than dismiss them all 
>> altogether because they come up short for one reason or another.  
>> This way all application can be listed "officially", while not being 
>> necessarily, "officially" sanctioned.
>>
>> Even in those instances where a application was denied, I would still 
>> leave the listing out there some place, if for no other reason than 
>> to see the history.
>>
>> Anyway, ready to answer questions about GeoMoose.  I got to rambling 
>> there a bit . . . Sorry.
>>
>> bobb
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Incubator mailing list
>> Incubator at lists.osgeo.org
>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/incubator
>
> +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> |Paul Spencer                          pspencer at dmsolutions.ca    |
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> |Chief Technology Officer                                         |
> |DM Solutions Group Inc                http://www.dmsolutions.ca/ |
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