[Mapserver-users] Wms or Wfs

[Arnulf Christl]

publiek at home.nl wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I'm trying to understand what WMS / WFS do.
>  
>
WMS describes the interface to order (request) raster images (pixels) 
and the returned map. Optionally it can (and most do) deliver feature 
information - the attributes of a geometry.
WFS describes the interface to order (request) vector geometry 
(features) and how to receive them.

>We have a database with employment data per location.
>We also have a polygon database (postgis/postgresql).
>
>It is possible to use wfs to get a table depending on where the user clicks on the map? 
>
Yes.

>I believe the mapserver asks postgresql the relevant data?
>  
>
Yes.

>And with wms you also get the image? 
>  
>
Yes.

>Am i correct on this? And how could i implement this? Any tips / pointers? 
>  
>
First specify for yourself what you want. If you want to see a map where 
you can click on a location and see the attributes of that "point" then 
you just include the PostgreSQL/PostGIS table in the UMN MapServer as a 
LAYER in the MAP file. Then you can query this layer with a client and 
receive the results in a HTML page. The layout of the resulting HTML 
page can be customized individually.
If you need the coordinates of the location you would rather ask the 
WFS, it will return the geometry and the attributes but no map.

Regards, Arnulf.

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