[mapserver-dev] MapServer Samples (was GeoServer superseeding MapServer in Europe)

Tue Jul 13 09:39:21 EDT 2010

Thanks Steve, I'll take a good look at it. I saw that the examples are 
still about good old Itasca 
(http://trac.osgeo.org/mapserver/browser/trunk/mapserver_demos/samples).

Perhaps something could be learned from Regina Obe's and Leo Hsue's new 
book about PostGIS (http://www.postgis.us/chapters). They use OpenLayers 
and GeoExt as  user interface, and  I wonder wether the MapServer 
training set: could be completely built around these programs. I always 
found the "classic" zoom and pan interface the hardest thing to teach a 
beginner.

Jan

On 07/12/10 18:45, Lime, Steve D (DNR) wrote:
>
> Hi Jan: Here a "samples" table of contents I had drafted eighteen 
> months ago. The idea was to create small samples
>
> and reference them directly or via OpenLayers if appropriate. Each 
> sample would be tagged with keywords to
>
> facilitate searches...
>
> Steve
>
> *From:* Jan Hartmann [mailto:j.l.h.hartmann at uva.nl]
> *Sent:* Friday, July 09, 2010 3:39 AM
> *To:* Lime, Steve D (DNR)
> *Cc:* Mark Volz; mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org
> *Subject:* Re: [mapserver-dev] RE: Re: GeoServer superseeding 
> MapServer in Europe?
>
> I'm sure a wel-designed learning set based on OpenLayers would be an 
> excellent learning tool for MapServer. The client interactive side has 
> always been a major hurdle for new people, even with something as 
> seemingly simple as zooming. If someone would set up and coordinate a 
> set of targets and outlines, I would be happy to work out a few subjects.
>
> Jan
>
> On 07/09/10 00:46, Lime, Steve D (DNR) wrote:
>
> Thanks for the feedback Mark. Our website has been in transition for 
> awhile and I think we've finally settled on a maintenance
>
> approach that will last. Perhaps now we can look at the very changes 
> you suggest. I've started an examples section patterned
>
> after the OpenLayers approach but it has languished...
>
> I'm not as enamored with a user gallery though. We had one earlier and 
> was impossible to maintain. Personally I favor learning
>
> by example.
>
> Steve
>
> *From:* mapserver-dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org 
> <mailto:mapserver-dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org> 
> [mailto:mapserver-dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] *On Behalf Of *Mark Volz
> *Sent:* Thursday, July 08, 2010 12:57 PM
> *To:* mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org>
> *Subject:* [mapserver-dev] Re: GeoServer superseeding MapServer in Europe?
>
> Hello,
>
> As a comparatively new user to Mapserver I just thought I would put in 
> my two cents.
>
> I think the main reasons why one would chose one product over another 
> is due to performance, features, and ease of use. For most 
> applications the performance between Mapserver and GeoServer appears 
> comparable.   Second, GeoServer has some interesting features, however 
> both Mapserver and Geoserver has a decent feature set.  This leaves us 
> at ease of use...
>
> When I first tried out Mapserver a few years ago I searched for 
> documentation for installing Mapserver, which lead me to "compiling on 
> Win32."  Needless to say I quickly became frustrated and lost trying 
> to find all the correct dependencies on different websites.  I soon 
> decided that it was simply too much work bother with and gave up.  
> Later on I had found the MS4W project, which to any new user is very 
> easy to use as they only have to click apache-start.bat to get 
> mapserver up and running.
>
> Next, I think any new user is interested in finding an all inclusive 
> application that helps them build a mapping site, that way users can 
> take the example application and plug in their own data. Mapserver has 
> excellent documentation and examples for the Mapfile itself, however 
> besides the one simple map on the main page there are no examples of 
> applications. I think the MS4W website does a better job at 
> distributing applications such as GeoMoose, and PMapper that people 
> can download, plug in their own data and then publish the site to the 
> web.  Perhaps people might be more intrested in using mapserver if 
> there was a "Gallary" that allowed new potential users the ability to 
> see what Mapserver can really do.
>
> To summarize here are some things that I think would attract new users:
>
> -Make the link to MS4W or FGS more prevalent.
>
> -Add a Gallery that links to "Easy to set up applications" such as 
> GeoMoose, PMapper.
>
> -If possible include some of the dependencies for compiling mapserver 
> on the website so people do not need to sift around several websites.
>
> Mark Volz
>
> GIS Specialist
>
> Lyon County, MN
>
> Message: 1
>
> Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:58:16 -0400
>
> From: Daniel Morissette <dmorissette at mapgears.com> 
> <mailto:dmorissette at mapgears.com>
>
> Subject: [mapserver-dev] GeoServer superseeding MapServer in Europe?
>
> To: 'MapServer Dev List' <mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org> 
> <mailto:mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org>
>
> Message-ID: <4C34C038.9050204 at mapgears.com> 
> <mailto:4C34C038.9050204 at mapgears.com>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hi Bart,
>
> I saw that you tweeted the following this morning:
>
> "bartvdeijnden: #Geoserver is superseding #Mapserver at least here in 
> Europe and I am starting to switch mentally as well (as an early 
> adopter of Mapserver)"
>
> Would you care to please elaborate on the reasons you see for this, 
> and perhaps guide us on what we can do to help this situation?
>
> I can't imagine that the slower pace of new developments and releases 
> of the last year or two is the only reason for that (or is it?). Your 
> feedback and thoughts would be much welcome.
>
> Daniel
>
> --
>
> Daniel Morissette
>
> http://www.mapgears.com/
>
>   
>   
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