[mapguide-users] MapGuide Open Source or MapServer

[Paul Spencer]

As someone who has used both (and is actively working with both), I  
believe you will get the most mileage out of concentrating on the  
toolkit you will build the application with.  As it stands,  
MapGuide's application framework is not the most suitable for the  
kind of application you are describing.  It could easily be used to  
build this application, but the framework would necessitate a server- 
side solution involving redrawing at least one layer from the server  
for every update.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if you  
want a smooth client-side experience, using a javascript toolkit like  
OpenLayers (http://www.openlayers.org/) or ka-Map (http://ka- 
map.maptools.org/) will give you a google-like experience and allow  
you to plot and move client-side markers in real-time - something  
that the MapGuide application framework doesn't quite support yet.

OpenLayers and ka-Map are client APIs that use map tiles (MapGuide  
can do tiles too) to provide the map context, but provide a  
javascript API for plotting points/lines/polygons and creating  
interactive popups etc - just like google maps.  ka-Map has been  
built on top of MapServer directly and employs a reasonably popular  
tile caching mechanism that improves performance and map quality  
dramatically.  OpenLayers can use tiles from a wide variety of  
sources, including MapServer directly and from ka-Map's tile caching  
mechanism.  In addition, there is a new tile caching mechanism that  
is supported by OpenLayers that is built on a proposed standard for  
making WMS requests cacheable.  At this point, it would be difficult  
to say which is superior ... I think they are just different,  
although in the long term the standards-based approach would be more  
desirable to most people.

I have built several applications using ka-Map that do essentially  
what you are looking for.  I know that the same thing has been done  
with OpenLayers as well, although I haven't personally done it.

Disclaimer: I am the creator of ka-Map and am also a developer on the  
OpenLayers team ;)  In the future, the two apis will be coming closer  
together and, hopefully, merging.  My recommendation is that you  
should start with OpenLayers.

Cheers

Paul


On 29-Jan-07, at 6:44 PM, Bruce Dechant wrote:

> Jim,
>
>
>
> I’m not sure there is a direct comparison between the two, but I  
> would highly recommend that you try MapGuide as it is very easy to  
> use.
>
> The response you get here might be biased since you are asking this  
> in a “MapGuide” mailing list. J
>
>
>
> Perhaps others who have used both could comment.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bruce
>
> From: mapguide-users-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [mailto:mapguide-users- 
> bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Jim Canniff
> Sent: January 29, 2007 9:02 AM
> To: mapguide-users at lists.osgeo.org
> Subject: [mapguide-users] MapGuide Open Source or MapServer
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> I'm looking for some advice on which GIS package to use for a  
> project I am about to start. I'm a junior level Java programmer and  
> have not used any GIS software at all. I've been asked to determine  
> which software would suit our needs. We are developing an  
> application which will display real-time information on multiple  
> layers over a GIS moving map. In it's simplest form, we would like  
> a flight track updating every 1-3 seconds, with additional objects,  
> such as wind barbs, plotted as a layer over the flight track. The  
> application will run from a Linux server (Debian distro), but must  
> be available within a standard web browser (IE, Firefox, Safari).
>
>
>
> In my brief searching I've noticed much press regarding MapGuide  
> Open Source and MapServer. However, I've been unable to locate a  
> discussion comparing the two.
>
>
>
> Any advice you might have will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> mapguide-users mailing list
> mapguide-users at lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/mapguide-users

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|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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