[mapserver-users] Re: Feature wish: Internal mapfile variables

[reholl]

I really like the idea of pulling mapfile resources from RDBMS and URL.  For
the URL, I don't think the communications part poses much of a challenge, as
the cURL stuff used in the OWS client can be repackaged.  I did that once to
make a mapserv CONNECTIONTYPE as a SOAP client.

I can certainly picture a somewhat generalized mechanism: "fill ANY mapfile
value from some outside resource that delivers a construct of the proper
form/type."  These resources might be chained or arranged in branches. 
(Does this begin to stray into WPS territory..?)

Anything of this complexity poses a risk to performance and readability. 
There's definitely something to be said for the everything-is-right-here
aspect of the mapfile.  Does mapserv configuration becomes less 'file' and
more 'system.' and with what new maintenance headaches?  Or another way to
view it: mapfile syntax becomes a de facto programming language, and we
already have mapscript in numerous flavors.  What's the tipping point for
"let's move this complexity into core mapserver"?

Given all these caveats, I'd love to explore this further...

Robert Hollingsworth


blammo wrote:
> 
> All, 
> 
> Would adding in INCLUDEs from a URL be pushing it too much, as in: 
> 
> INCLUDE "http://Myserver.com/cgi-bin/myscript.pl" 
> 
> Could pass in parameters like so . . . 
> 
> INCLUDE "http://Myserver.com/cgi-bin/myscript.pl?A=first thing&b=second
> thing&c=third thing . . ." 
> 
> bobb 
> 
>>>> "Smith, Michael ERDC-CRREL-NH" <Michael.Smith at .army> wrote:
> 
> There is an RFC to have includes come from non-file connections
> (databases). It would be another option
> 
> http://mapserver.org/development/rfc/ms-rfc-74.html
> 
> Mike
> --
> Michael Smith
> 
> Remote Sensing/GIS Center
> US Army Corps of Engineers
> 
> On 10/3/11  2:51 PM, "Stephen Woodbridge" <woodbri@> wrote:
> 
>>One idea regarding this that you might want to consider is the ability
>>to put all the named parameters in an include file, then be able to
>>include that file via a CGI parameter. So it might look like this:
>>
>>
> 


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