[Mapserver-users] Showing a single point from a DBF file

[Gregory S. Williamson]

I am having a heck of a time with this ... I have almost got an application that works, but I can't help but wonder if I am perhaps going about this the wrong way. I am currently using map server 3.6.3 on Windows (our project is migrating from windows so development has been easier by using micro$oft). Eventually we'll migrate to a linux box with the latest map server.

I have some data points on a map -- users can query them and get shown a web page about that point. The shape file has a column for a URL/internal address and I use that with a little bit of javascript to actually get the user the page.

Now I want to go the other way -- from a given page in our project, say "Seals Stadium" and bring up our map of San Francisco with that point (only) highlighted. I can do this by manually tweaking the map file:
 CLASSITEM "ID"
  LABELCACHE ON
  CLASS
    NAME "SSF Map Points"
    EXPRESSION "2"

...

 where "2" is the id of the point in question ...

So how can do this when the point isn't known in advance [e.g. Joe wants to see #23 and Mary wants to see #44, etc.) ?

I've tried a perl script that creates a map file with a random number as part of its name (to keep it unique), replacing only that value, but I don't seem to be getting functional maps -- the ones I have conjured look ok but when I click on them I get a "Page not found" error.

I'd like to keep using mapserver as a cgi beast for now (in the interest of quicker deployment) ... eventually a perl application is probably the way I'll go since other tools use perl and I'm reasonably familiar with it.

Any advice (or a "fergit it without using xxxx") would be welcome ... 

Thanks!

Greg Williamson
Shaping San Francisco
gsw at shapingsf.org [having trouble with my mail server sending mail, hence a different address in the mail header]