[mapserver-commits] r8262 - in trunk/docs: . community images
installation
svn at osgeo.org
svn at osgeo.org
Thu Dec 18 23:55:39 EST 2008
Author: hobu
Date: 2008-12-18 23:55:39 -0500 (Thu, 18 Dec 2008)
New Revision: 8262
Added:
trunk/docs/community/irc.txt
trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-complete.png
trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-fetch.png
trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-next.png
trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-start.png
Modified:
trunk/docs/community/index.txt
trunk/docs/contents.txt
trunk/docs/documentation.txt
trunk/docs/download.txt
trunk/docs/glossary.txt
trunk/docs/installation/win32.txt
trunk/docs/new_users.txt
Log:
start migrating Jeff's content to introduction doc
Modified: trunk/docs/community/index.txt
===================================================================
--- trunk/docs/community/index.txt 2008-12-19 03:04:22 UTC (rev 8261)
+++ trunk/docs/community/index.txt 2008-12-19 04:55:39 UTC (rev 8262)
@@ -8,4 +8,5 @@
:maxdepth: 2
lists
+ irc
Added: trunk/docs/community/irc.txt
===================================================================
--- trunk/docs/community/irc.txt (rev 0)
+++ trunk/docs/community/irc.txt 2008-12-19 04:55:39 UTC (rev 8262)
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+.. _irc:
+
+*****************************************************************************
+ IRC
+*****************************************************************************
+
+Some of the development of MapServer is coordinated through IRC. This page
+describes how you log on to chat, ask questions, and hack around with the
+developers.
+
+Server and Channel Information
+===============================
+
+::
+
+ Server: irc.freenode.net
+ Channel: #mapserver
+
+Why IRC?
+========================
+
+IRC is a primary medium where Open Source GIS hackers congregate, collaborate,
+and hack. It makes it easy to communicate things like compilation issues,
+where immediate, iterative feedback allows folks to make a lot of progress.
+Something that might take days of heavily-quoted emails through a maillist
+might only take fifteen minutes on IRC.
+
+IRC is a great way to coordinate on-line meetings. Much of the discussion
+about the development of the new MapServer website was coordinated through
+IRC.
+
+Some folks find IRC distracting and do not normally participate except for
+on-line meetings.
+
+How do I join?
+=========================
+
+`Chatzilla <http://www.mozilla.org/projects/rt-messaging/chatzilla/>`__ is
+probably the easiest way to get going. Chatzilla works with Mozilla or
+Firefox, and once you have it installed, you can log on to the channel by
+pointing your browser at::
+
+ irc://irc.freenode.net/#mapserver
+
+There are many other IRC clients available. `This page
+<http://tikiwiki.org/ConnectingToIrc>`__ provides a good listing for many
+different platforms.
+
Modified: trunk/docs/contents.txt
===================================================================
--- trunk/docs/contents.txt 2008-12-19 03:04:22 UTC (rev 8261)
+++ trunk/docs/contents.txt 2008-12-19 04:55:39 UTC (rev 8262)
@@ -4,9 +4,14 @@
Documentation Contents
***************************************************
+.. note::
+ This page is a placeholder for the documentation generation software. You
+ may want the :ref:`documentation` page instead.
+
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
+ documentation
new_users
installation/index
mapfile/index
@@ -14,16 +19,12 @@
input/index
output/index
ogc/index
-
optimization/index
utilities/index
cgi/index
+ community/index
development/index
glossary
download
- community/index
copyright
-.. note::
- This page is a placeholder for the documentation generation software. You
- may want the :ref:`documentation` page instead.
\ No newline at end of file
Modified: trunk/docs/documentation.txt
===================================================================
--- trunk/docs/documentation.txt 2008-12-19 03:04:22 UTC (rev 8261)
+++ trunk/docs/documentation.txt 2008-12-19 04:55:39 UTC (rev 8262)
@@ -9,13 +9,9 @@
:ref:`new_users`,:ref:`installation`,:ref:`mapfile`
:ref:`mapscript`,:ref:`input`,:ref:`output`
:ref:`ogc`,:ref:`optimization`,:ref:`utilities`
- :ref:`gloss`, :ref:`genindex`
+ :ref:`development`,:ref:`gloss`, :ref:`genindex`
-.. figure:: ./images/architecture.png
- :alt: MapServer Basic Architecture
-
- The basic architecture overview...
.. figure:: ./images/reccompass.jpg
:target: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/compass.html
Modified: trunk/docs/download.txt
===================================================================
--- trunk/docs/download.txt 2008-12-19 03:04:22 UTC (rev 8261)
+++ trunk/docs/download.txt 2008-12-19 04:55:39 UTC (rev 8262)
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
Download
***************************************************
+.. _source:
+
Source
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -60,7 +62,15 @@
..............................................................................
+`OSGeo4W`_
+ OSGeo4W is a binary distribution of a broad set of open source geospatial
+ software for Win32 environments (Windows XP, Vista, etc). OSGeo4W includes
+ GDAL/OGR, GRASS, MapServer, OpenEV, uDig, as well as many other packages
+ (about 70 as of summer 2008).
+
+.. _`OSGeo4W`: http://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo4w/
+
`MS4W`_
MapServer for Windows from MapTools.org. If you are a beginner looking for
a complete MapServer solution in the Windows platform, or an advanced user
@@ -81,13 +91,7 @@
.. _`FWTools`: http://fwtools.maptools.org/
-`OSGeo4W`_
- OSGeo4W is a binary distribution of a broad set of open source geospatial
- software for Win32 environments (Windows XP, Vista, etc). OSGeo4W includes
- GDAL/OGR, GRASS, MapServer, OpenEV, uDig, as well as many other packages
- (about 70 as of summer 2008).
-
-.. _`OSGeo4W`: http://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo4w/
+.. _linux:
Linux
..............................................................................
@@ -111,6 +115,8 @@
.. _`DebianGIS`: http://wiki.debian.org/DebianGis
+.. _osx:
+
Mac OS X
..............................................................................
Modified: trunk/docs/glossary.txt
===================================================================
--- trunk/docs/glossary.txt 2008-12-19 03:04:22 UTC (rev 8261)
+++ trunk/docs/glossary.txt 2008-12-19 04:55:39 UTC (rev 8262)
@@ -120,6 +120,11 @@
.. seealso::
`Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapefile>`_
+ Spherical Mercator
+ `Spherical Mercator <http://docs.openlayers.org/spherical_mercator/#what-is-spherical-mercator>`__
+ is a term used to describe the :ref:`PROJECTION` used by many
+ commercial API providers.
+
Tileindex
A tileindex is a :term:`Shapefile` or other :term:`Vector` data
source that contains footprints of :term:`Raster` data coverage.
Added: trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-complete.png
===================================================================
(Binary files differ)
Property changes on: trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-complete.png
___________________________________________________________________
Name: svn:mime-type
+ application/octet-stream
Added: trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-fetch.png
===================================================================
(Binary files differ)
Property changes on: trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-fetch.png
___________________________________________________________________
Name: svn:mime-type
+ application/octet-stream
Added: trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-next.png
===================================================================
(Binary files differ)
Property changes on: trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-next.png
___________________________________________________________________
Name: svn:mime-type
+ application/octet-stream
Added: trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-start.png
===================================================================
(Binary files differ)
Property changes on: trunk/docs/images/osgeo4w-install-start.png
___________________________________________________________________
Name: svn:mime-type
+ application/octet-stream
Modified: trunk/docs/installation/win32.txt
===================================================================
--- trunk/docs/installation/win32.txt 2008-12-19 03:04:22 UTC (rev 8261)
+++ trunk/docs/installation/win32.txt 2008-12-19 04:55:39 UTC (rev 8262)
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
.. _win32:
*****************************************************************************
- Win32 Compilation and Installation
+ Compiling on Win32
*****************************************************************************
:Author: Pericles Nacionales
@@ -21,12 +21,11 @@
If you've made it this far, chances are you already know about MapServer and
are at least tempted to try compiling it for yourself.
Pre-compiled binaries for MapServer are available from a variety of
-sources. Refer to `Win32 Binaries`_. Building MapServer
+sources. Refer to :ref:`windows`. Building MapServer
for win32 platforms can be a daunting task, so if existing binaries are
sufficient for your needs, it is strongly advised that they be used in
preference to trying to build everything from source.
-.. _`Win32 Binaries`: http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/win32binaries.html
However, there can be a variety of reasons to want to build MapServer from
source on win32. Reasons include the need to enable specific options, to
Modified: trunk/docs/new_users.txt
===================================================================
--- trunk/docs/new_users.txt 2008-12-19 03:04:22 UTC (rev 8261)
+++ trunk/docs/new_users.txt 2008-12-19 04:55:39 UTC (rev 8262)
@@ -6,53 +6,77 @@
:Revision: $Revision$
:Date: $Date$
+:Author: Jeff McKenna
+:Contact: jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com
:Author: David Fawcett
:Contact: david.fawcett at moea.state.mn.us
+:Author: Howard Butler
+:Contact: hobu.inc at gmail.com
.. contents::
:depth: 2
:backlinks: top
-
-========================================================================
+
MapServer Overview
-========================================================================
-In its most basic form, MapServer is a CGI program that sits inactive on your
-Web server. When a request is sent to MapServer, it uses information passed
-in the request URL and the Map File to create an image of the requested map.
-The request may also return images for legends, scale bars, reference maps,
-and values passed as CGI variables. Here is a conceptual
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-.. image:: ./images/msappdiagram.png
+MapServer is a popular Open Source project whose purpose is to display dynamic
+spatial maps over the Internet. Some of its major features include:
-of a typical MapServer application.
+* support for display and querying of hundreds of raster, vector, and database
+ formats
+* ability to run on various operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, etc.)
+* support for popular scripting languages (PHP, Python, Perl, Java, C, Ruby)
+* on-the-fly projections
+* high quality rendering
+* fully customizable application output
+* many ready-to-use Open Source application environments
+
+In its most basic form, MapServer is a :term:`CGI` program that sits inactive
+on your Web server. When a request is sent to MapServer, it uses information
+passed in the request URL and the :ref:`Mapfile <mapfile>` to create an image
+of the requested map. The request may also return images for legends, scale
+bars, reference maps, and values passed as CGI variables.
+.. seealso::
+ The :ref:`gloss` contains an overview of many of the jargon terms in this
+ document.
-MapServer can be greatly extended and customized. It can be built to support
-many different input data formats and output types. This is done at the time
-the MapServer binary is compiled. See the
-`MapServer Home Page <http://mapserver.osgeo.org>`__ for a
-full list of current features. Many of the features that are not 'built-in',
-are enabled through the use of
-:ref:`OGR`.
+MapServer can be extended and customized through :ref:`MapScript <mapscript>`
+or :ref:`templating <template>`. It can be built to support many different
+:ref:`vector <vector>` and :ref:`raster <raster>` input data formats, and it
+can generate a multitude of :ref:`output <output>` formats. Most pre-compiled
+MapServer distributions contain most all of its features.
-=========================================================================
-MapScript
-=========================================================================
+.. seealso::
+ :ref:`unix` and :ref:`win32`
-MapScript provides a scripting interface for MapServer for the construction
-of Web and stand-alone applications. MapScript is used independently of
-CGI MapServer, it is a loadable module that adds MapServer capability to
-your favorite scripting language. MapScript currently exists in :ref:`php`,
-Perl, :ref:`python`, Ruby, Tcl, Java, and C# flavors.
+.. note::
-This New User Guide will not explicitly discuss MapScript, check out the
-:ref:`MapScript Reference <mapscript>` for more information.
+ :term:`MapScript` provides a scripting interface for MapServer for the
+ construction of Web and stand-alone applications. MapScript can used
+ independently of CGI MapServer, and it is a loadable module that adds
+ MapServer capability to your favorite scripting language. MapScript
+ currently exists in :ref:`PHP <php>`, Perl, :ref:`Python <python>`, Ruby,
+ Tcl, Java, and .NET flavors.
-=========================================================================
+ This guide will not explicitly discuss MapScript, check out the
+ :ref:`MapScript Reference <mapscript>` for more information.
+
Anatomy of a MapServer Application
-=========================================================================
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+.. figure:: ./images/architecture.png
+ :alt: MapServer Basic Architecture
+
+ The basic architecture of MapServer applications. :ref:`MapScript
+ <mapscript>` or :ref:`mapserv CGI <mapserv>` is the `application server
+ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_server>`__ that drives map
+ rendering. :ref:`Mapfile <mapfile>` configuration directives drive the application
+ server.
+
A simple MapServer application consists of:
* **Map File** - a structured text configuration file for your MapServer
@@ -76,13 +100,13 @@
to place a static map image on a html page. To make the map interactive,
the image is placed in an html form on a page.
- CGI programs are 'stateless', every request they get is new and they don't
+ :term:`CGI` programs are 'stateless', every request they get is new and they don't
remember anything about the last time that they were hit by your application.
For this reason, every time your application sends a request to MapServer,
it needs to pass context information (what layers are on, where you are on
the map, application mode, etc.) in hidden form variables or URL variables.
- A simple application may include two html pages:
+ A simple MapServer :ref:`cgi` application may include two html pages:
* **Initialization File** - uses a form with hidden variables to send an
initial query to the http server and MapServer. This form could be placed
@@ -96,104 +120,129 @@
name, map extent, etc.) as it creates the html page for the browser to read.
The template also determines how the user can interact with the MapServer
application (browse, zoom, pan, query).
+
+ .. seealso::
+ :ref:`template`
* **MapServer CGI** - The binary or executable file that receives requests and
returns images, data, etc. It sits in the cgi-bin or scripts directory of
the http server. The Web server user must have execute rights for the
directory that it sits in, and for security reasons, it should not be in
- the web root.
+ the web root. By default, this program is called :ref:`mapserv`
* **HTTP Server** - serves up the html pages when hit by the user's browser.
You need a working HTTP (Web) server, such as
`Apache <http://httpd.apache.org>`__ or Microsoft Internet Information
Server, on the machine on which you are installing MapServer.
-=========================================================================
-Getting Started
-=========================================================================
+Installation and Requirements
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The best strategy for learning how to build MapServer applications and
-understand how it all works is to start very simple. Even if your ultimate
-goal is to build a very complex, cutting edge application, make the first
-step a small one. Get the simple demo running and then morph it into your
-own application. Here is what you need to get started:
+Windows Installation
+...............................................................................
-------------------------------
+OSGeo4W is a new Windows installer that downloads and/or updates MapServer,
+add-on applications, and also other Open Source geospatial software. The
+following steps illustrate how to use OSGeo4W:
+
+1) Download OSGeo4W
+ http://download.osgeo.org/osgeo4w/osgeo4w-setup.exe
+
+2) Execute (double-click) the .exe
+
+3) Choose "Express" or "Advanced" install type
+
+ .. image:: ./images/osgeo4w-install-start.png
+
+ .. note::
+ Express contains options for higher-level packages such as MapServer,
+ GRASS, and uDig. Advanced gives you full access to choosing
+ commandline tools and applications for MapServer, that are not
+ included in the Express install
+
+4) Select packages to install
+
+ .. image:: ./images/osgeo4w-install-next.png
+
+ .. note::
+ Click on the "Default" text beside the higher-level packages (such as
+ Web) to install all of Web's sub-packages, or click on the "Skip" text
+ beside the sub-package (such as MapServer) to install that package and
+ all of its dependencies.
+
+5) Let the installer fetch the packages.
+
+ .. image:: ./images/osgeo4w-install-fetch.png
+
+6) Test your installation
+
+ .. image:: ./images/osgeo4w-install-complete.png
+
+
Hardware Requirements
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
MapServer runs on Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, and more.
To compile or install some of the required programs, you may need
administrative rights to the machine. People commonly ask questions about
minimum hardware specifications for MapServer applications, but the answers
are really specific to the individual application. For development and
-learning purposes, a very minimal machine will work fine.
+learning purposes, a very minimal machine will work fine. For deployment,
+you will want to investigate :ref:`optimization` of everything from your
+data to server configuration.
-------------------------------
Software Requirements
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
-You need a working and properly configured HTTP (Web) server, such as
-`Apache <http://httpd.apache.org/>`__ or Microsoft Internet Information
-Server, on the machine on which you are installing MapServer. If you are on
-a Windows machine, and you don't have a HTTP server installed, you may want
-to check out `MS4W <http://www.maptools.org/ms4w/index.phtml>`__, which will
-install a pre-configured HTTP server, MapServer, and more. The `FGS Linux
-Installer <http://www.maptools.org/fgs/>`__ provides similar functionality for
-several Linux distributions.
+You need a working and properly configured HTTP (Web) server, such as `Apache
+<http://httpd.apache.org/>`__ or Microsoft Internet Information Server, on the
+machine on which you are installing MapServer. OSGeo4W contains Apache
+already, but you can reconfigure things to use IIS if you need to.
+Alternatively, :ref:`MS4W <windows>` can be used to install MapServer on
+Windows.
-You will also need a Web browser, and a text editor (vi, emacs,
-notepad, homesite) to modify your html and Map files.
+If you are on a Windows machine, and you don't have a HTTP server installed,
+you may want to check out `MS4W <http://www.maptools.org/ms4w/index.phtml>`__,
+which will install a pre-configured HTTP server, MapServer, and more. The `FGS
+Linux Installer <http://www.maptools.org/fgs/>`__ provides similar
+functionality for several Linux distributions.
-------------------------------
+This introduction will assume you are using pre-compiled OSGeo4W Windows
+binaries to follow along. Obtaining MapServer or :ref:`Linux <linux>` or
+:ref:`Mac OS X <osx>` should be straightforward. Visit :ref:`download` for
+installing pre-compiled MapServer builds on Mac OS X and Linux.
+
+You will also need a Web browser, and a text editor (vi, emacs, notepad,
+homesite) to modify your html and :ref:`Mapfiles <mapfile>`.
+
Skills
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
-In addition to learning how the different components of a MapServer
-application work together and learning Map File syntax, building a basic
-application requires some conceptual understanding and proficiency in
-several skill areas.
+In addition to learning how the different components of a MapServer
+application work together and learning Map File syntax, building a basic
+application requires some conceptual understanding and proficiency in several
+skill areas.
-You need to be able to create or at least modify
-`HTML <http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/>`__ pages and understand how HTML forms
-work. Since the primary purpose of a MapServer application is to create maps,
-you will also need to understand the basics of geographic data and likely, map
-projections. As your applications get more complex, skills in SQL,
-DHTML/Javascript, Java, databases, expressions, compiling, and scripting
-may be very useful.
+You need to be able to create or at least modify `HTML
+<http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/>`__ pages and understand how HTML forms work.
+Since the primary purpose of a MapServer application is to create maps, you
+will also need to understand the basics of geographic data and likely, map
+projections. As your applications get more complex, skills in SQL,
+DHTML/Javascript, Java, databases, expressions, compiling, and scripting may
+be very useful.
-========================================================================
-Build your first MapServer Application
-========================================================================
+Building your first MapServer Application
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
Get MapServer Running
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
-Download the appropriate source code or pre-compiled binaries for your
-operating system from `OSGeo <http://download.osgeo.org/mapserver/>`__ or
-`MapTools <http://www.maptools.org/ms4w/index.phtml?page=downloads.html>`__.
-`FGS <http://www.maptools.org/fgs/>`__ from maptools.org provides a
-stand-alone environment that includes Apache http server, MapServer, and PHP
-MapScript.
-Compilation instructions are available for :ref:`Unix/Linux <unix>` and
-:ref:`Windows <win32>`, with additional `Build Notes for RedHat
-<http://ms.gis.umn.edu/docs/howto/RedHat9andMapServer40>`__. `Refractions
-Research Inc <http://www.refractions.net/>`__ also maintains a set of `Linux
-RPMs <http://postgis.refractions.net/rpms/>`__. If you are on the Windows
-platform, compilation can be quite challenging, for your first application, it
-is recommended that you utilize pre-compiled Windows binaries.
-
-Once MapServer is installed, there are two ways that you can test it. First,
-at the command line, type 'mapserv -v', you should see a message describing
-your MapServer install, something like:
-
::
MapServer version 5.2 OUTPUT=GIF OUTPUT=PNG
OUTPUT=JPEG OUTPUT=WBMP SUPPORTS=PROJ SUPPORTS=FREETYPE
- SUPPORTS=WMS_SERVER INPUT=SHAPEFILE DEBUG=MSDEBUG
+ SUPPORTS=WMS_SERVER INPUT=SHAPEFILE
You can also send a HTTP request directly to the MapServer CGI program without
passing any configuration variables (e.g.
@@ -201,9 +250,8 @@
'No query information to decode. QUERY_STRING not set.', your installation is
working.
-------------------------------
Get Demo Running
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Download the `MapServer Demo <http://maps.dnr.state.mn.us/mapserver_demos/workshop-5.0.zip>`__.
UnZip it and follow the directions in ReadMe.txt. You will need to move the
@@ -212,9 +260,8 @@
point your browser to init.html and hit the 'initialize button'. If you get
errors, verify that you have correctly modified the demo files.
-=========================================================================
Making the Site Your Own
-=========================================================================
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that you have a working MapServer demo, you can use the demo to display
your own data. Add new LAYERs to your Map file that refer to your own
@@ -225,23 +272,21 @@
demo, modify :ref:`MAP` EXTENT
to match the extent of your data. To determine the extent of your data, you can
use `ogrinfo <http://www.remotesensing.org/gdal/ogr/ogr_utilities.html>`__.
-If you have access to a GIS, you could use that as well. The MAP EXTENT needs to
+If you have access to a GIS, you could use that as well. The :ref:`MAP` EXTENT needs to
be in the units of your output projection.
If you add geographic data layers of different projections, you will need to
modify your Map File to add a :ref:`PROJECTION` block to the :ref:`map`
(output projection ) and each of the :ref:`layer` (existing layer projection).
-------------------------------
Adding Data to Your Site
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
MapServer supports several data input formats 'natively', and many more if
-it is compiled with the open source libraries
-`GDAL <http://gdal.maptools.org/>`__ and `OGR <http://ogr.maptools.org/>`__.
+it is compiled with the open source libraries :term:`GDAL` and :term:`OGR`.
Vector Data
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Vector data includes features made up of points, lines, and polygons.
MapServer supports ESRI shapefiles by default, but it can be compiled to
@@ -255,7 +300,7 @@
geographic data sources to your MapServer project.
Raster Data
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Raster data is image or grid data. By default, MapServer supports
Tiff/GeoTiff, and EPPL7. With `GDAL <http://gdal.maptools.org/>`__, it
@@ -265,15 +310,14 @@
support, as this will cause a conflict. More specific information can be found in
the :ref:`Raster Data HowTo <raster>`.
-------------------------------
Projections
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Because the earth is round and your monitor (or paper map) is flat, distortions
will occur when you display geographic data in a two-dimensional image.
Projections allow you to represent geographic data on a flat surface. In
doing so, some of the original properties (e.g. area, direction, distance,
-scale or conformality)of the data will be distorted. Different projections
+scale or conformity)of the data will be distorted. Different projections
excel at accurately portraying different properties. A good
`primer <http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/mapproj/mapproj_f.html>`__
on map projections can be found at the University of Colorado.
@@ -288,13 +332,11 @@
Windows can be found on the old `Wiki
<http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WindowProjHowTo>`__.
-=========================================================================
Enhancing your site
-=========================================================================
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
Adding Query Capability
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
There are two primary ways to query spatial data. Both methods return data
through the use of templates and CGI variable replacement. A :ref:`QUERYMAP`
@@ -306,7 +348,7 @@
queries can be found in the :ref:`MapServer CGI Reference <cgi>`.
Attribute queries
------------------------------
+...............................................................................
The user selects features based on data associated with that feature.
'Show me all of the lakes where depth is greater than 100 feet', with
@@ -324,7 +366,7 @@
Attribute queries only apply within the EXTENT set in the map file.
Spatial queries
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
The user selects features based on a click on the map or a user-defined
selection box. Again the request is passed through a URL or form post.
@@ -333,9 +375,8 @@
box are returned. Additional query options can be found in the
`MapServer CGI Reference <http://ms.gis.umn.edu/docs/reference/cgi>`__
-------------------------------
Interfaces
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Once they have a basic MapServer application going, people often want to
add additional functionality and a more sophisticated interface that isn't
@@ -349,9 +390,8 @@
Talk about OpenLayers http://openlayers.org
-------------------------------
Data Optimization
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Data organization is at least as important as hardware configuration in
optimizing a MapServer application for performance. MapServer is quite
@@ -393,18 +433,15 @@
LAYER MAXSCALE to show more detailed data layers as the user zooms in.
This same concept applies to images.
-=========================================================================
How do I get Help?
-=========================================================================
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
Documentation
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
-------------------------------
List Archives
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
`Archive <http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/mapserver-users/>`__ of MapServer Users
list. Check here before posting a question to the listserv, your question has
@@ -412,12 +449,11 @@
`Public, Searchable Archive of MapServer-Users <http://www.nabble.com/MapServer-f1214.html>`__ is available also.
-------------------------------
Ask for help
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Users Listserv
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Register and post questions to the
`MapServer Users <http://ms.gis.umn.edu/community/mailinglists/mapserver-users/>`__ listserv.
@@ -431,32 +467,29 @@
person who replied to your question.
IRC
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
mapserver users and developers can be found on Internet Relay Chat. The
channel is #mapserver on irc.freenode.net.
-------------------------------
-Examples
-------------------------------
Gallery
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
`Examples <http://ms.gis.umn.edu/gallery/galleryfolder_view>`__ of MapServer sites
Tutorial
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Perry Nacionales built a great `Tutorial <http://hypnos.cbs.umn.edu/tutorial/>`__ on how to build a MapServer application. You are invited to extend the collection of examples if you see cases that are missing.
Test Suite
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
`Demonstration <http://noah.dnr.state.mn.us/mapserver_demos/tests46/>`__ of some MapServer functionality
Books
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
`Web Mapping Illustrated <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/webmapping/>`__ , a new book by Tyler Mitchell that describes well and provides real-world examples for the use of Web mapping concepts, Open Source GIS software, MapServer, Web services, and PostGIS.
@@ -465,7 +498,7 @@
`Beginning MapServer: Opensource GIS Development <http://www.apress.com/book/bookDisplay.html?bID=443>`__ , by Bill Kropla, is a new book focusing on MapServer. So new, I haven't seen it yet. According to the publisher, it covers installation and configuration, basic MapServer topics and features, incorporation of dynamic data, advanced topics, MapScript, and the creation of an actual application.
Online Demo
-------------------------------
+...............................................................................
Hopefully we will have this some day...
More information about the mapserver-commits
mailing list