[mapserver-dev] Expanding the MapServer Project

[Jeff McKenna]

Before we move forward with this I'd like to hear the comments from all 
of the PSC regarding TinyOWS and its database support (as far as I know 
it still only supports PostGIS connections).   Is there a plan for 
TinyOWS to leverage OGR to connect to supported databases?  For example, 
the ZOO project uses OGR to connect to any OGR-supported database for 
MapServer WFS-T connections (if you don't believe me, check it out 
yourself: http://zoo-project.org/site/ZooWebSite/Demo/WFS-T)

If MapServer adopts TinyOWS, am I correct to assume that OGR would be 
leveraged for WFS-T connections?

-jeff



On 11-03-24 1:47 PM, Lime, Steve D (DNR) wrote:
> Hi All: Wanted to drop folks a note about a topic that came up over
> beers in Montreal. It has to do with expanding the core functionality
> the “project” can deliver by bring a few select external projects in
> under the MapServer umbrella. The two we were thinking about initially
> are mod_geocache (for tiling support) and TinyOWS (for basic WFS-T).
> Why? Well, beyond the technical connections to MapServer there are
> several reasons.
>
> For MapServer users this would provide a more complete set of
> functionality on the server-side than is currently available. Instead of
> sending folks to an tilecache or whatever for tiling, and GeoServer for
> WFS-T we could provide much of that functionality as part of the core.
> That’s not to say that folks couldn’t or wouldn’t want to use the
> external solutions but in many cases we could deliver a complete solution.
>
> For these external projects moving into MapServer provides a home. Both
> of the projects mentioned are relatively small and MapServer would help
> establish a user base for them and hopefully increase their level of
> adoption. I think it could also attract new developers, at the very
> least those with commit rights for MapServer. This will also promote (or
> perhaps even force) tighter integration with MapServer core. An initial
> idea is pulling mapfile handling out into a libmapfile that could be
> used and maintained cooperatively.
>
> Bringing projects into MapServer is not a trivial activity and would
> take some time. We’re thinking it would involve tasks such as:
>
> - Vetting source and licensing of incoming projects (e.g. akin to OSGEO
> incubation)
>
> - Source, testing and build environment restructuring
>
> - Integration/migration of svn and trac (or the like) environments
>
> - Integration/migration of websites and documentation
>
> Finally, the MapServer PSC would become the governing organization for
> these new pieces. As a result, it would make sense to add the project
> leads for each project to the PSC (Thomas Bonfort (mod_geocache) is
> already a member).
>
> This is the first significant project restructuring for MapServer, but I
> think it makes sense and positions MapServer as more than just a map
> maker. Thoughts?
>
> Steve
>
> (Note: I shared this privately with the MapServer PSC to gauge interest
> and was encouraged to bring it to the –dev list…)
>