[mapserver-users] questions (FWD)

[Thomas E. Burk]

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Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 17:37:31 -0500
To: @lists.gis.umn.edu
From: Alexander   Shostko <shostko at ureach.com>
Subject: questions
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Dear mapserver users!

Thank you in advance for your help and Your opinion on the 
stuff below: 


I have to develop a module that should display the US map with 
each state 
colored according to some supplied value and Indivudual states, 
where each county are 
colored according to some changeable  value as well.

I selected the mapserver a few days ago and it works for the 
trial application I created. 
I will appreciate your advice in the following:

To color the maps with varying colors it looks like I have the 
following options:

1. assigning the individual shapefiles to classes in layers in 
the Mapfile
and changing the 'color' value (overwriting the file) each time 
the 
changes occur in the system. The server is loading map file on 
each request and it
should work. 

I do not know whether it is the most efficient option. Also I 
do not like
very much overwriting the files onthe disk.

2. tying the color value to the state or county attributes of 
shapes records
in *.dbf file. After which setting the color by using MapObj 
APIs. 


This option involves either modifying the mapserver or writing 
the scrips (perl or
php with the mapscript)

3. Writing a set of APis based on the mapserver/gd/shapelib 
freeware (it is already done 
by mapserver community) and coding the application 
again through php or something like this.


4. Something that I am not aware of, that will do it in a much 
more elegant and simpler
fashion.


Again , thank you very much for your advice.


With Best regards,

Alexander Shostko,
shostko at ureach.com


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