Foundation and Mapserver MAP file manag e tool

[Frank Warmerdam]

On 12/15/05, Bob Basques <bob.basques at ci.stpaul.mn.us> wrote:
> I'm still thinking about the statement regarding maintaining the current
> Map Files along with a new XMLish version.  Couldn't the two be kept up
> side by side for some amount of time with a sunset date being
> artificially set for the older version, once (most) everyone is happy
> with the new order of things?  There may even be ways of making the
> conversion fairly easy between the two, or even have two seperate
> MapServer interpreters that are options at compile time, or, still
> thinking about it as you can tell . . . . . I don't know the innards of
> MapServer well enough to be an authority on any of these suggestions,
> but someone else can tell me what would and wouldn't work.

Bob,

I find it hard to imagine not supporting both versions of the mapfile,
at least for a few versions.  It might be that some new features are
only accessable in the XML format though.  I suspect it would be hard
to get the developers to keep both in sync for very long.

I don't see any reason one binary couldn't have the support for
both formats built in.

PS. regarding Flavio's point about not wanting to edit XML mapfiles.
I do edit xml config files (and .vrt/.ovf and so forth) on a fairly
frequent basis with a text editor, and I don't find it that bad.  But
there does tend to be some extra fluff that would be a bother if you
are always doing it by hand.

Best regards,
--
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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | Geospatial Programmer for Rent