[mapserver-users] Query "Unique Values" in Mapfile?

[Stefan Schwarzer]

Hi there,

is it possible to make mapserver directly detect the "unique values"  
in a field of the dbf table? I have twenty or more point and polygon  
shapefiles, each having a column with specific thematic data, such as  
the "protected area category". But the content of these columns is  
different. So, defining these classes by hand would consume much time;  
and defining them dynamically via PHP & SQL, then writing a bit of the  
mapfile code before launching the whole thing looks a little bit  
complicated for a relative basic request.

Thanks for any hints,

Stef