Can map server send feature data/vector data to the client?

[Ethan Alpert]

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is certainly a way of pulling XML
data to the client using the XMLHttpRequest object. HOWEVER, you can
only connect to the server that sent you the page (a javascript security
"feature"). This kind of makes doing this hard for multiple WFS/WMS
servers but does enable some interesting possibilities for smarter
clients.

-e

-----Original Message-----
From: UMN MapServer Users List [mailto:MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU] On
Behalf Of Andrea Edwards
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2005 1:46 PM
To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU
Subject: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] Can map server send feature data/vector
data to the client?


Hello

I was wondering if it was possible in mapserver to send raw
vector/feature data to the client's web browser?

In the standard model for internet web mapping applications each
pan/zoom operation sends a request to the server and a new map is
redrawn. I was wondering if it was possible to cut down on some of the
processing time by sending the vector data to the client and then
processing the maps on the client side.

I also thought that this might not be possible because of the sheer size
of the vector data that you would have to send to the client. You would
also have to make sure the vector data was removed from the client's
machine as it would violate your licensing agreement for the map data if
it was left on someone else's machine (well it would mine anyway).

I was wondering what people's thoughts were on this issue.

Also does the jbox javca applet process vector data on the client?

Many thanks for your help
andrea