[mapserver-users] OT: Cataloguing masses of spatial data

[Brent Fraser]

Tyler,

  We've done the same thing.  There's an admin tool to recurse thru the file
system and load the database, and a client tool to use the information in
the database and access the data.  Currently we've built only one client
tool, an ArcView 3.x extension that will automatically find the data for
your area of interest and create themes (very similar to Armin Burger's
MapServer ArcView extension).

Things we've found useful to put in the database:
    - categorize the data (e.g. 1:24k DRGs, 30 m Landsat, 1998 Census/Tiger,
etc)
    - record the coordinate system of each dataset (EPSG numbers are great)
    - other things: display order, scale, file type, revision, symbology,
offline,...

Things I'd like to do:
    - automatically create shapefiles of the datasets and use MapServer show
the distribution of data
    - build a client/server ArcView extension with MapServer as the back-end
(gotta have that 24-bit output!)
    - add more data types

There are some commercial tools out there (ArcCatalog, etc) and other
initiatives (FGDC, OGC) for cataloging and accessing distributed data.


Brent Fraser
GeoAnalytic Inc.
bfraser at geoanalytic.com
www.geoanalytic.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tyler Mitchell" <TMitchell at lignum.com>
To: <mapserver-users at lists.gis.umn.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2002 10:50 AM
Subject: [mapserver-users] OT: Cataloguing masses of spatial data


> Hi guys and gals,
> I'm reorganizing our corporate spatail data and have made up a few tools
to
> recursively search through folders for spatial (GDAL/OGR recognized)
> datasets.  Then it saves an entry into a comma separated file which I can
> then load into a database.  I hope to be able to use this database
> (somehow) for looking up datasets in the future.  I will be building in
> metadata that will link to a file location.
>
> Has anyone else been doing anything like this?  I'd love to get the
> discussion going.  It's kinda based on the concept of the WMS
> getcapabilities - but with a much broader scope - i.e. not for use in
> mapserver per se but as a data management tool that could help users know
> what data is available for use as a layer in mapserver.
>
> Anyway, I'm not explaining my thoughts very well.  But essentially I'm
> building a database catalogue of our spatial database and would like to
end
> up using it for more than a "manger-level" lookup of what kind of data we
> have in our company.  Doing anything similar?  Any other related ideas?
>
> Tyler
>
>