FW: Info on MapServer

[myunghwa Hwang]

I agree with you.
And I wonder one more thing.
What's major difference between server types such as Map Server,  
GeoServer
and client types such as Map Builder, Cartoweb?
I know I can search it.
But if some experienced people tell us the major distinctions,
it might be very helpful for many novices.

from Myunghwa Hwang

On Nov 6, 2006, at 9:13 AM, P Kishor wrote:

> Good golly... this should be converted into a FAQ, or, into a "What
> you need to know about MapServer before you begin."
>
> Very well explained answers Frank.
>
> On 11/6/06, Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam at pobox.com> wrote:
>> Raj writes:
>> >    1. Is this a complete web based engine where we could offer a  
>> web
>> >       based solution on the same with around 200-300 users  
>> accessing the
>> >       application simultaneously for map viewing.
>>
>> Raj,
>>
>> MapServer will support 200-300 users with an appropriately configured
>> application, though I'd consider that a high load for a single  
>> machine
>> serving maps and you would likely need to be quite careful about how
>> your application is setup.
>>
>> I'm not sure what you mean by a "complete web based engine".   
>> MapServer
>> is not a GIS and does not endevour to have a complete set of GIS
>> functionality.  You may also find you need a variety of related  
>> projects
>> to achieve some ends.  In particular there are many layered software
>> packages that can be used with mapserver to make building web  
>> applications
>> easier.  Packages such as CartoWeb, Chameleon, Mapbender, MapBuilder,
>> and ka-Map (as a few examples).  You will want to review some of  
>> these
>> higher level packages as part of your review of mapserver.
>>
>> >    2. Do you have any benchmarks on the map rendering speed on  
>> the web
>> >       with the above load? If so kindly furnish us the same.
>>
>> I do not, perhaps others do.  Generally speaking you are best off
>> doing some benchmarking yourself, and understanding that  
>> performance can
>> be very sensitive to a variety of issues (data organization, machine
>> memory, etc).
>>
>> >    3. Does the map engine support the following features.
>> >          1. Map navigating tools zoom in, zoom out, distance,  info
>> >             tool, auto pan, centering
>>
>> yes
>>
>> >          2. Does it support both vector and rastor map data set?
>>
>> yes
>>
>> >          3. Does it support MS-SQL and Oracle as backend  
>> database for
>> >             the attributes?
>>
>> Yes, though the normal MapServer model is for the attributes to be
>> conceptually stored with the spatial geometry.  Trying to do joins  
>> on the
>> fly can be problematic, especially in performance sensitive  
>> situations.
>>
>> Note that there is good Oracle Spatial support built in.  Access to
>> MS-SQL is via the OGR ODBC driver and can be considered weaker.
>>
>> >          4. Does it support animation layer? i.e. creating point  
>> objects
>> >             on the fly over web ?for eg. Vehicle tracking.
>>
>> I believe you would need to use a client side toolkit such as  
>> MapBuilder
>> to have AJAX style client side animation.  Or perhaps you just mean
>> rendering from dynamic datasets?  This is quite possible.
>>
>> >          5. Does it support radial distance / search?
>>
>> yes
>>
>> >          6. Does it support buffering for line and point objects?
>>
>> yes, though this is a new feature, I think accessible only in  
>> mapscript.
>>
>> >          7. Does it support editing the layers on the web – like
>> >             creating points, drawing lines etc.
>>
>> Generally speaking no, MapServer does not support feature editing  
>> well.
>> There are some environments (Mapbender?) that address this sort of  
>> need,
>> but I think they post changes back to transactional WFS'es like  
>> GeoServer.
>> Use of GeoServer as a WFS and MapServer as a WMS is a fairly common
>> configuration for such requirements.
>>
>> >          8. Does it have a distance calculator?
>>
>> I am not aware of one built in, though environments like Chameleon  
>> may
>> include this.
>>
>> >          9. Which is map data format supported? Does it support  
>> both
>> >             shape files (ESRI), MapInfo format as well Oracle  
>> spatial or
>> >             any other geo-database format.
>>
>> The "native" format is shapefiles (in the sense this is the  
>> original and
>> in many ways best optimized format), but Oracle Spatial is also well
>> supported.  Via OGR a variety of formats are supported including  
>> mapinfo
>> (mid/mif and tab), etc.
>>
>>    http://www.gdal.org/ogr/
>>
>> >    4. Does the map server have a licensing cost and does it have  
>> any
>> >       restrictions with respect to number of simultaneous users?
>>
>> No, sorry.  We are missing this feature.
>>
>> >    5. What is the level of support and documentation provided for a
>> >       serious user like us?
>>
>> I'd suggest you visit the mapserver website to judge the available
>> documentation.  If you want support you can call on the mapserver
>> mailing lists but for serious support you may consider contracting
>> with experienced mapserver consultants including firms like DM  
>> Solutions,
>> or MapGears, and individuals such as Steve Lime, or Howard Butler.
>>
>> I personally think that MapServer and related projects is a great  
>> solution
>> for consultants and integrators willing to spend some time  
>> learning MapServer
>> and who have the experience and knowledge to customize and extend  
>> things
>> when required.  This gives great flexibility in providing exactly  
>> the solution
>> a client needs, and ensures you aren't trapped into the licensing/ 
>> pricing
>> scheme of a vendor who may be insensitive to your needs or the  
>> needs of
>> some of your clients.
>>
>> Best regards,
>> --
>> --------------------------------------- 
>> +--------------------------------------
>> 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    | President OSGeo, http:// 
>> osgeo.org
>>
>
>
> -- 
> Puneet Kishor http://punkish.eidesis.org/
> Nelson Inst. for Env. Studies, UW-Madison http://www.nelson.wisc.edu/
> Open Source Geospatial Foundation https://edu.osgeo.org/
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> ---------------------------------
> collaborate, communicate, compete
> ====================================================