[mapserver-users] .map

[John Bennett]

Hi Tyler
Thanks for the replies. This is a great user group.
To be more specific, I have 50 different defined areas. Daily new gif files
will come in showing the crop/soil conditions in each area. Each area may
have 10 different products (gifs) that define the crop/soil condition. The
site has to allow the user to select any area, product type and date (from
1970 to now) and the crop/soil conditions should be displayed to them.
Therefore the spatial archive which is being constantly added to may have
5,000,000 gif's(I'm exaggerating). (350 days x 10 products x 50 sites x 30
years).
I'm thinking a possible way to do this is to have the 50 different areas in
one shapefile. The user selects which shapefile and selects a date. The
server gets that date/type and changes the name of the gif in the .map file
according to the date/type selected by that user. What do you think? Any
other suggestions?
John


-----Original Message-----
From: Tyler Mitchell [mailto:TMitchell at lignum.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 5:37 PM
To: John Bennett
Subject: Re: [mapserver-users] .map



You can have as many .map files as you want.  But typically 1 file is used
per "application".  Each map file can contain as many layer/dataset
definitions as you need though!  What is actually being updated?  Are you
creating new files that you want to display - or simply modifying existing
ones?  What needs to change in the map file?  Do you want to add a new
layer/dataset (ie. a new shape file or image) or do you simply want the
updated data to be displayed?   It will automatically!  Mapserver just
reads what it is told to and will display any changes once a new request is
made.

Feel free to share a bit more of the process with us.


Tyler


|---------+--------------------------------------->
|         |           "John Bennett"              |
|         |           <john.bennett at noetix.on.ca> |
|         |           Sent by:                    |
|         |           owner-mapserver-users at lists.|
|         |           gis.umn.edu                 |
|         |                                       |
|         |                                       |
|         |           09/19/2002 01:17 PM         |
|         |                                       |
|---------+--------------------------------------->

>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------|
  |
|
  |       To:       "Mapserver-Users" <mapserver-users at lists.gis.umn.edu>
|
  |       cc:
|
  |       Fax to:
|
  |       Subject:  [mapserver-users] .map
|

>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------|




I'm new to this, therefore a simple question.

I have a large dataset that is being added to daily, full of shapefiles and
Gifs. For displaying these files using Mapserver is the protocol to update
the .map file every time the database is updated (one big .map file, I
don't
think so, too big eh!) or make a new .map dynamically for each user
depending on their request?
Thanks for the past help.
John