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

Wed Mar 2 08:10:06 PST 2016

I fully agree with Bob, which is why I've been working closely with the 
GeoMOOSE community for recent MS4W releases.

-jeff

On 2016-03-02 11:45 AM, Basques, Bob (CI-StPaul) wrote:
> 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