[mapserver-users] best practice: map data structure

[Frank Broniewski]

Hello List,

I want to migrate our old server to a new one, and I want to replace the 
somewhat grown map data folder and file mess into something more structured. 
Therefore I am looking for some advice on how to organize the Filesystem 
Hierarchy. Sure somehow its always a matter of taste and need, but maybe you 
have some comments on my proposed structure.

I browsed already the mailing list archives and the documentation on the 
mapserver site but did not find any related infos, but I am willing to 
summarize this thread into a howto document if something useful comes up.

I will be using a linux server, so the structure will reflect the unix 
filesystem hierarchy to a certain degree.

A good starting point seems to be /usr/local/ to me.

/usr/local/mapdata/ for storing raster and vector files
/usr/local/mapfiles/ for mapfiles and other config files

You would have /usr/local/mapdata/CLIENTDIR/vector and  
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENTDIR/raster for client specific map data
similar to
/usr/local/mapdata/PROJECTDIR/... for project data

and /usr/local/mapdata/share/vector & /usr/local/mapdata/share/raster for 
shared map data (srtm topo maps e.g.)

A good structure for mapfiles & co would be:
/mapfile.map
/fonts/ - font config and font files (ttf)
/icons/ - icon files (png, ...)
/symbols/ - symbol.map
/templates/ - template files

This structure could be mapped to 
/usr/local/mapfiles/share/...
or
/usr/local/mapfiles/CLIENTDIR/...

I would really appreciate any comments and shared experience on this ...

Listing:

/usr/local/mapdata/
/usr/local/mapdata/share/
/usr/local/mapdata/share/raster/
/usr/local/mapdata/share/raster/topo20/
/usr/local/mapdata/share/raster/topo20/01.tif
/usr/local/mapdata/share/raster/topo20/...
/usr/local/mapdata/share/raster/topo20/99.tif
/usr/local/mapdata/share/raster/topo20/tileindex.shp
/usr/local/mapdata/share/vector/
/usr/local/mapdata/share/vector/streetnetwork/
/usr/local/mapdata/share/vector/streetnetwork/streets.shp
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENT/raster/
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENT/raster/ortho/
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENT/raster/ortho/01.tif
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENT/raster/ortho/...
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENT/raster/ortho/99.tif
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENT/raster/ortho/tileindex.shp
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENT/vector/
/usr/local/mapdata/CLIENT/vector/cad/contours.shp
/usr/local/mapdata/PROJECT/raster/
/usr/local/mapdata/PROJECT/raster/climate/
/usr/local/mapdata/PROJECT/raster/climate/precipitation.tif
/usr/local/mapdata/PROJECT/vector/
/usr/local/mapdata/PROJECT/vector/archeology-sites.shp

/usr/local/mapfiles/
/usr/local/mapfiles/share/
/usr/local/mapfiles/share/mapfile.map
/usr/local/mapfiles/share/fonts/
/usr/local/mapfiles/share/icons/
/usr/local/mapfiles/share/symbols/
/usr/local/mapfiles/share/templates/
/usr/local/mapfiles/CLIENT/
/usr/local/mapfiles/CLIENT/mapfile.map
/usr/local/mapfiles/CLIENT/fonts/
/usr/local/mapfiles/CLIENT/icons/
/usr/local/mapfiles/CLIENT/symbols/
/usr/local/mapfiles/CLIENT/templates/
/usr/local/mapfiles/PROJECT/mapfile.map
/usr/local/mapfiles/PROJECT/fonts/
/usr/local/mapfiles/PROJECT/icons/
/usr/local/mapfiles/PROJECT/symbols/
/usr/local/mapfiles/PROJECT/templates/