[mapserver-users] MapServer, ArcIMS, or SVG??

[Steve Simpson]

Hello listers,

This mailing list seems to be great and MapServer looks like a great
technology.  I hope you can help me.  Here's my situation:

I just started a job working for a mapping demographics company and
I am in charge of putting a complex app written in MapBasic online.  I don't
have any previous gis experience but have lots of enterprise java and some
Microsoft experience.  I've had to quickly become familiar with the multiude
of technologies in gis.  The natural fit for our solution is MapXtreme, but it's
to expensive.  There seems to me to be three options:
--ArcIMS
--MapServer
--SVG
I know that you all will say, use MapServer, but try to be objective.  We want
to do this QUICKLY, even if it means doing it in a quick and dirty way.  The only two
development choices are Java and Microsoft.  Sorry, based on the experience of the
others who will be working on it and the speed we want to get this done, that is what we're 
looking at.  And, I'm leaning towards Microsoft being the better option.  (I am very experienced
in Java, but Microsoft is all the others know.)  Some questions:
--Can MapServer be used with Java or Microsoft (Active Server Pages)?
--Would ArcIMS be more of a natural fit for Java or Microsoft?
--SVG seems to be a cool technology.  However, on some websites, it mentions
how with it, you can take the maps created in MapInfo or ESRI's desktop products
and put them online to make them interactive.  But, we need more than that.  I need
SVG to be able to actually do the part that the desktop product does of creating the map.
Pardon my ignorance, but I assume SVG can't do that?

Well, that's about it.  I would really appreciate any tips here.  I have scoured this and the MapInfo
mailing list, but am still not certain what direction to take.

Regards,
Steve Simpson
steve at sitesusa.com