[mapserver-dev] Call for discussion on MS RFC 115: Upgrade and cleanup of Tutorial and Demo datasets

Wed Mar 2 07:45:17 PST 2016

All,

I often thought that GeoMOOSE is an excellent example of using MapServer in a mixed data sourcing environment.

The current GeoMOOSE demo has multiple sourcing examples already configured.  And there isn’t any limit placed on adding new ones.

Food for thought.

bobb

> On Mar 1, 2016, at 6:48 PM, Lime, Steve D (MNIT) <Steve.Lime at state.mn.us> wrote:
> 
> A few bits of input...
> 
> Question: We are using OpenLayers3 for the tutorial as it is part of the OSGeo  suite, rather than for example Leaflet.
> Input: Maybe OL3 for the bulk of the tutorial where inline rendering is used but demonstrating use with other clients as in-depth topics is important IMHO. 
> 
> Question: We planned on using shapefiles for the simple example, but perhaps now would be a time to recommend geopackages as best practice?
> Input: Depends on if this is just a hosted demo or something folks can download. I still think that shapefiles represent a lower bar for entry for many users since there are so many associated tools, both open source and commercial. 
> 
> Question: Parts 2-4 of the existing tutorial focus on building a web UI using MapServer...
> Input: I agree, I think any UI focus should be on integration with various client environments as I mentioned before. Mode=browse should be a thing of the past.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mapserver-dev [mailto:mapserver-dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Seth G
> Sent: Monday, February 29, 2016 3:04 PM
> To: mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org
> Subject: Re: [mapserver-dev] Call for discussion on MS RFC 115: Upgrade and cleanup of Tutorial and Demo datasets
> 
> Hi list,
> 
> It was a great experience to attend the recent Paris code sprint, and to 
> put some faces to the names on this list.
> To try and keep some momentum on updating the tutorials/demos there are 
> a list of issues below that people may want to provide input on.
> 
> - we are using OpenLayers3 for the tutorial as it is part of the OSGeo 
> suite, rather than for example Leaflet.
> - we planned on using shapefiles for the simple example, but perhaps now 
> would be a time to recommend geopackages as best practice?
> - we plan on storing .MAP files, and .HTML files alongside the document 
> sources. Hopefully this will make it easier to keep the tutorials up to 
> date, but some may prefer to keep the docs/HTML separate? The map files 
> and HTML will be copied to a zip folder so they can be downloaded to run 
> locally. The map files will be uploaded to the OSGeo server for the live 
> demo.
> - parts 2-4 of the existing tutorial focus on building a web UI using 
> MapServer. We have assumed that more recent systems nearly all use a 
> separate JavaScript mapping library to create the UI 
> (OpenLayers/Leaflet/desktop GIS). For this reason they will not be updated.
> - with regards to installation is it ok to recommend ms4w as the easiest 
> way for installing on Windows?
> - what is the current load on the server? Would an increased number of 
> live demos be easy to support? If not a virtual machine to run the demos 
> could be something that could be sponsored?
> 
> Once the quick start tutorial is completed I can test it out on a few 
> some GIS people who have never used MapServer before (who I presume are 
> the target audience).
> 
> In relation to Steve's comments - we had planned to create single 
> feature demos as a step 2 (based on RFCs etc), but to keep a "start to 
> finish" tutorial using the same MAP file with increasing complexity. 
> Agree that if there are any standards/best practices it would be great 
> to list these so we can stick to them for the tutorial.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Seth
> 
> On 29/02/2016 20:52, Lime, Steve D (MNIT) wrote:
>> Looks like a great start. Some comments:
>> 
>>   - I'd completely forget about legacy demos except for perhaps inspiration. They'll do nothing but cause confusion.
>>   - Suggestions for other in depth tutorials:
>>     -> anatomy of a MapServer application - how to arrange mapfiles, includes, data, templates, web assets, configuring Apache. Would be nice to endorse a structure...
>>     -> MapServer security
>>     -> queries (modes query, nquery, itemquery) and templates (new style only). You can really do a lot with standard queries including generating custom JSON/GEOJSON services and many user simply don't know what's possible.
>>     -> run-time configuration, parameter validation and setting defaults.1
>>     -> integration with common client platforms - OL2/OL3, Leaflet, Google Maps, Bing. Some super simple demos will go a long way, both for background/overlay map support but also for query support.
>> 
>> One thing I always enjoyed about the OL demos was how succinct they were - one feature highlighted at a time. I would encourage some of that here if possible...
>> 
>> Is there any plan to make this downloadable?
>> 
>> Steve
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: mapserver-dev [mailto:mapserver-dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Morissette
>> Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2016 6:28 PM
>> To: mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org
>> Subject: Re: [mapserver-dev] Call for discussion on MS RFC 115: Upgrade and cleanup of Tutorial and Demo datasets
>> 
>> Big thanks to Julien, Lars, Lars and Seth for undertaking this. It was
>> for sure long overdue.
>> 
>> I'd like to remind everyone that they laid out a clear plan in the RFC
>> and are awaiting your feedback. The plan includes both updating the
>> tutorial pages on the website, and also preparing a new "official" demo
>> dataset to replace the original Itasca demo.
>> 
>> We'll leave another couple of days for feedback and then proceed with
>> the vote to adopt the RFC.
>> 
>> Daniel
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 2016-02-26 11:13 AM, Julien Enselme wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> 
>>> The state of the new tutorial at the end of the code sprint can be
>>> found here: [1]
>>> 
>>> The first six sections have text. Only the live example of the first
>>> section is working on the site. The others will be corrected soon (at
>>> least I hope).
>>> 
>>> [1]: http://gislars.github.io/mapserver_docs/tutorial/index.html#tutorials-for-mapserver-6
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Julien Enselme
>>> Software Engineer
>>> Ioda-Net SÀRL, Switzerland
>>> 
>>> On Thu, 2016-02-25 at 15:08 +0000, Lime, Steve D (MNIT) wrote:
>>>> Will do, just wanted to say that it's great to see this taken up as a
>>>> new piece of work... --Steve
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: mapserver-dev [mailto:mapserver-dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On
>>>> Behalf Of lars lingner
>>>> Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2016 3:57 AM
>>>> To: MapServer Dev Mailing List <mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org>
>>>> Subject: [mapserver-dev] Call for discussion on MS RFC 115: Upgrade
>>>> and cleanup of Tutorial and Demo datasets
>>>> 
>>>> Hello,
>>>> 
>>>> at the current OSGeo Codesprint we started work on an updated version
>>>> of
>>>> the MapServer tutorial.
>>>> 
>>>> Please have a look at our RFC [1], [2]. We would like to ask for any
>>>> feedback or additions. By end of the week we hope to have a first
>>>> version ready. The work will continue and should also be cover the
>>>> tutorial within OSGeo-Live, where the release cycle starts in April
>>>> this
>>>> year.
>>>> 
>>>> We would also like to ask how we can add a live demo
>>>> to  demo.mapserver.org
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Regards,
>>>> 
>>>> Lars
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> [1] http://mapserver.org/development/rfc/ms-rfc-115.html
>>>> [2]
>>>> https://github.com/mapserver/docs/blob/branch-7-0/en/development/rfc/
>>>> ms-rfc-115.txt
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>> 
>> 
> 
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