[mapserver-users] Meeting

[Dave McIlhagga]

I've just been reading through a lot of the comments regarding the need
for documentation.  I agree that there could be much more, however I
wouldn't want to discount the efforts that are being made in this
direction.

In regards to PHP, please bear in mind that this is a relatively new
addition to MapServer - really only getting off the ground in the last
year or so.  We are working towards improving PHP/MapScript
documentation through the UMN documentation project, and I believe this
will go a long way to support user development with PHP.

On a broader note, remember that this is an open source initiative, and
in order for it to be successful requires contributions from the user
community.  Documentation is now being formally organized through the
UMN and I would suggest to anyone who really wants to see this product
improve (not just technically, but with all the other supporting
components - documentation, samples, bug reporting) to get involved.


BTW, I think the user group meeting is a fantastic idea.  It would
certainly help to put faces to all of these names. :)

Dave



".d.z.a." wrote:
> 
> Hi there, just to let anyone who cares know.
> 
> I am playing with Mapserver and PHP. TO help myself I started documenting
> it. I will probably bundle it up and make it all nice for distribution.
> still a couple of months away jsut because its not a priority....but I too
> faced the documentation, and endedup just crawling htrough the perl examples
> and stuff instead....
> 
> for anyone that fares anyhoo
> 
> cares even =)
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-mapserver-users at lists.gis.umn.edu
> [mailto:owner-mapserver-users at lists.gis.umn.edu]On Behalf Of Puneet
> Kishor
> Sent: 25 July 2001 03:47
> To: mapserver-users at lists.gis.umn.edu
> Cc: Mike Neuman
> Subject: Re: [mapserver-users] Meeting
> 
> Mike,
> 
> On Tuesday, July 24, 2001, at 06:08  PM, Mike Neuman wrote:
> 
> >> MapServer is not just a success, it is a raving success.
> >
> >   I'm new to the Mapserver community. I would agree with this statement
> > from
> > a *technical* point of view, but strongly disagree from an
> > approchability
> > point of view. There are virtually NO examples of how to create maps, do
> 
> I wrote the above, and I stand by what I wrote, and yet, I
> whole-heartedly agree with what you write.
> 
> I too am frustrated, with my regular web mapping solution, as well as
> with Mapserver's lack of docs and examples. I waste immense number of
> hours trying to solve something that has been documented wrong, or not
> documented at all. Or, the syntax for classes and methods is there, but
> no real example to wrap my hands around...
> 
> my current problem is trying to locate a polygon using a polygon id, and
> then zooming to it... hours and hours of glossing over the miminal docs.
> 
> But you know what... this is still better than the commercial solution.
> And while that still leaves Mapserver ways to go, it is really saying a
> lot.
> 
> I really do appreciate the un-remunerated work that Steve, Daniel, and
> others are doing, but we've together _got_ to take this further. Perhaps
> the users meeting would be a right step.
> 
> As soon as I get my scripts and maps working, I am gonna make it
> available to others for what its worth... maybe elementary for some, but
> might save someone valuable time.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Puneet.

-- 
Dave McIlhagga
President, DM Solutions Group

http://www.dmsolutions.ca
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