[mapserver-users] Designing a wrapper around mapserv which can be used with fcgi

Milo van der Linden mlinden at zeelandnet.nl
Wed Nov 4 07:36:42 PST 2009


I have:

- mapserver running as fastcgi
- php running as fastcgi

I am currently setting up, not sure how this is going to end up; but I
have the structure you mention in mind too.

I hope that since both processes are fcgi they will enhance each other?
But testing will have to prove it in the near future.

Dan Little schreef:
> If you can you might want to consider python... the syntax is a little cleaner with Mapscript.  Of course, that's an opinion but I also am a little allergic to sigils (I get all itchy).
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
>   
>> From: Andy Colson <andy at squeakycode.net>
>> To: Adrian Popa <adrian_gh.popa at romtelecom.ro>
>> Cc: mapserver-users at lists.osgeo.org
>> Sent: Wed, November 4, 2009 8:38:52 AM
>> Subject: Re: [mapserver-users] Designing a wrapper around mapserv which can be used with fcgi
>>
>>     
>>> Andy Colson wrote:
>>>       
>>>>> Andy Colson wrote:
>>>>>           
>>>>>> Adrian Popa wrote:
>>>>>>             
>>>>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I am currently using a wrapper around mapserv which receives the URL 
>>>>>>>               
>> parameters, builds the map file (actually I only need to set some filters in the 
>> map file, but the filters need to be built after running some SQL queries with 
>> the passed in parameters). After the map file is built, mapserv is called (as a 
>> shell script), and the map gets sent to the user. Currently this wrapper is 
>> written in perl - so it's not terribly fast as a cgi process.
>>     
>>>>>>> While this approach works, it is terribly inefficient. I would like to use 
>>>>>>>               
>> mapserv as a fcgi process (or something faster than plain cgi). My question is - 
>> how can I /should I build a wrapper around mapserv that can "customize" the MAP 
>> file on the fly and run as a fcgi process?
>>     
>>>>>>> Any ideas on where I should start? An example of such a wrapper?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Also, I suspect I can send parameters to mapserver and use some sort of 
>>>>>>>               
>> variables in the map file to set up my filters - but I haven't seen an example. 
>> Can someone point me to such a documentation?
>>     
>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>> Adrian
>>>>>>>               
>>>>>> Have you seen mapscript?  You can use mapserver directly from perl.  And 
>>>>>>             
>> perl can do fast-cgi.  Here is a little, ad-hoc, non-tested, perl fcgi:
>>     
>>>>>> #!/usr/bin/perl
>>>>>>
>>>>>> use strict;
>>>>>> use mapscript;
>>>>>> use FCGI;
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> my $request = FCGI::Request( );
>>>>>> while($request->Accept() >= 0)
>>>>>> {
>>>>>>         my($req, $x, $at, $xmap, $xpin, $sid, $y, $q);
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         $req = new mapscript::OWSRequest();
>>>>>>         $req->loadParams();
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         $xmap = $req->getValueByName('map');
>>>>>>         $xpin = $req->getValueByName('pin');
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         my $map = new mapscript::mapObj( "/maps/$xmap.map" );
>>>>>>         if (! $map)
>>>>>>         {
>>>>>>                 #print STDERR "----- Error loading map: $xmap.map\n";
>>>>>>                 print("Content-type: text/text\r\n\r\n");
>>>>>>                 print "cant load $xmap.map";
>>>>>>                 $request->Finish();
>>>>>>                 next;
>>>>>>         }
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         mapscript::msIO_installStdoutToBuffer();
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         $x = $map->OWSDispatch( $req );
>>>>>>         if ($x)
>>>>>>         {
>>>>>>                 print STDERR "OWSDispatch: $x\n";
>>>>>>                 my $errObj = new mapscript::errorObj();
>>>>>>                 while ($errObj) {
>>>>>>                         print STDERR "ERROR: 
>>>>>>             
>> $errObj->{code}:$errObj->{message}:$errObj->{routine} \n";
>>     
>>>>>>                         $errObj = $errObj->next();
>>>>>>                 }
>>>>>>         }
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         my $content_type = mapscript::msIO_stripStdoutBufferContentType();
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         $x = mapscript::msIO_getStdoutBufferBytes();
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         print("Content-type: $content_type\r\n\r\n");
>>>>>>         if (mapscript::msGetVersionInt() >= 50500)
>>>>>>         {
>>>>>>                 print $$x;
>>>>>>         } else {
>>>>>>                 print $x;
>>>>>>         }
>>>>>>
>>>>>>         mapscript::msIO_resetHandlers();
>>>>>>         $request->Finish();
>>>>>> }
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'd recommend using mapserver 5.6.0.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -Andy
>>>>>>
>>>>>>             
>>>> Adrian Popa wrote:
>>>>         
>>>>> Thank you,
>>>>>
>>>>> I will look into it. I guess through mapscript I can redefine the
>>>>> parameters that get sent to mapserver? Or do I rewrite the whole map?
>>>>>
>>>>>           
>>>> You can load a map into memory (I assume you were already doing that). You 
>>>>         
>> said "..perl.. receives the URL parameters ...and... builds the map file".
>>     
>>>> I assume your perl does: use mapscript?
>>>>
>>>> and at some point: my $map = new mapscript::mapObj( "/maps/$xmap.map" );
>>>>
>>>> You kind of imbed mapserver into your perl script, and can call its functions 
>>>>         
>> and what not.  After you load the map you can do things to it, in memory.
>>     
>>>> In my example above, I'm using the WMS features ($map->OWSDispatch), but you 
>>>>         
>> can also generate an image:
>>     
>>>> my $img = $map->draw();
>>>> $img->save('x.jpg', $mapscript::MS_JPG);
>>>>
>>>> -Andy
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>       
>> Adrian Popa wrote:
>>     
>>> Thank you Andy for explaining.
>>>
>>> Actually my wrapper is very hard-core, meaning I don't use mapscript
>>> (because I had to build it quickly and didn't have time to research
>>> which was the best approach). Now I have more time and I'd like to tune
>>> things up, so I will definitely start studying mapscript (If you have a
>>> link to a good tutorial/function reference for it I am in your debt).
>>>
>>> My wrapper just copied over a template map file, edited it (rewrites
>>> some filters) and then it set
>>> $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'} = $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'}."&map=$file";
>>>
>>> ...and then called
>>>
>>> print `/var/www/cgi-bin/mapserv`;
>>>
>>>
>>> It's barbaric, I know, but it worked for me. :)
>>> It will take a bit of rewrite to add fcgi support and mapscript, but in
>>> the long run it will be more mantainable... :)
>>>
>>> Thanks again,
>>> Adrian
>>>       
>> So are you using the template html stuff?  Humm... I've never used that stuff, 
>> not sure how it'll all translate.
>>
>> For documentation, I used the mapscript reference:
>> http://mapserver.org/mapscript/mapscript.html
>>
>> I found a few example perl scripts that helped with the syntax (my $c = new 
>> mapscript::colorObj(), $c->{blue} = 255;, etc...).  Other than that, I had more 
>> problems comming up with nice looking colors for my map, than actually writing 
>> the perl code.
>>
>> -Andy
>> _______________________________________________
>> mapserver-users mailing list
>> mapserver-users at lists.osgeo.org
>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/mapserver-users
>>     
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