[mapserver-dev] GeoServer superseeding MapServer in Europe?

[Bart van den Eijnden]

Hi Daniel,

wrt 1, it's what I see at several Dutch government agencies. They don't want CGIs. They all have JBoss containers ...

Best regards,
Bart

On Jul 7, 2010, at 8:31 PM, Daniel Morissette wrote:

> Bart van den Eijnden wrote:
>> Hi Daniel,
>> 
>> I think there are a few reasons:
>> 
>> 1) Java fits in better with existing IT infrastructures
> 
> Not sure I agree with this one... if you are already a Java shop then
> GeoServer fits better, but if you are not then I would have thought that
> MapServer would have fit better (as lightweight CGI under any HTTP
> server) and saved you from installing and managing a complete Java
> server environment.
> 
> Is it a matter of lack of a click-through installer for Windows, or
> really an IT infrastructure issue?
> 
>> 2) Geoserver's strong and ongoing support for WFS, especially the
>> application schemas, which are needed for INSPIRE
> 
> Good point.
> 
>> 3) The admin tool
>> 
> 
> Yeah, this one keep coming up...
> 
> 
>> I think you can probably also read some of the reasons of why the Dutch
>> government chose Geoserver, around page 46 in the following document (it
>> also contains a section on Mapserver):
>> http://www.geonovum.nl/sites/default/files/algemeen/MOT20100618TechnicalDesignv1.0.pdf
>> 
> 
> Sounds to me like the integrated stack is what made GeoServer win in
> this case, not the superiority of the software itself.
> 
> I have to admit that the alternative to "the stack" in the MapServer
> case is a bit messy, a set of independent tools each with their own
> paradigms, quirks and config files, and in different languages:
> 
> - mapserv.exe (native binary)
> - MapScript (PHP, Python, or one of the others if you dare)
> - TinyOWS (for WFS-T, which works great BTW), also a native binary
> - TileCache (Python)
> - FeatureServer (Python)
> 
> One of the things we've been talking about here (at Mapgears) is coming
> up with an integrated set of tools for all of the above with a
> consistent config file and possibly all native binaries... but that
> would require some work.
> 
> Daniel
> -- 
> Daniel Morissette
> http://www.mapgears.com/
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