[mapserver-users] The right tool for the job

[Milo van der Linden]

Hello Colin,

Mapserver would be an excelent choice to serve the base map and even 
create the dynamic maps you want.
You can also use the great spatial query possibilities of postGIS to 
create views in the database to create the lines on the fly and then 
serve these views through mapserver.



Colin Wetherbee schreef:
> Greetings.
>
> I'm new to using GIS data, and I have a project for which I think GIS 
> and MapServer would work well.  I'd like to run the basic idea by this 
> list and get your input as to whether I'm choosing the right tool for 
> the job.
>
> I have a PostgreSQL 8.2 database with PostGIS extensions installed, 
> which stores, in GIS form, coordinates for airports around the world.
Excelent choice!
>
> I also have a rather large Perl web application that accesses other 
> things in this database.  This is the application to which I would 
> like to add some fancy maps.
>
> Essentially, I'd like a map of the world, 
You can connect to other WMS services such as Demis to display a world 
map, either from a server or from a client (using for instance openlayers)
> and I'd like to be able to highlight certain airports and draw 
> different types of lines between them, based on dynamic input from the 
> user through the Perl application. 
You can use user variables to connect to the mapfile (search for 
"substitute variables" on the mapserver website. I would like to hand 
you the link, but I cannot connect to http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu at 
the moment)
> Each web page could potentially include a different sort of map with 
> different locations highlighted.  
No problem
> At peak usage, I suspect at least 75 maps would need to be generated 
> per second, with an average of 30-40 data points and various amounts 
> of connecting lines between them per map.
Make sure the server is capable of this with regards to bandwidth, 
memory and processor capacity. This is in essence not a problem for mapserv.
>
> Is this the sort of thing MapServer is good at doing?  I've read some 
> of the web site, and really, I can't make heads or tails of quite a 
> bit of it, especially with respect to Perl.
I think it is, but it is best to combine it with a strong AJAX viewer to 
get the best dynamic user experience and taking the most (views and 
queries) out of postGIS.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Colin
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