[Live-demo] Re: Mapserver quickstart

Tue Feb 22 07:39:21 PST 2011

Hi Cameron,

My colleague Alexandre has made the modifications to the mapserver quickstart 
document.

Alan

On January 11, 2011 04:57:37 pm Cameron Shorter wrote:
> > On 12/01/11 05:59, Alan Boudreault wrote:
> >> Hi Cameron, I've written a first version of the quick start. It is very
> >> simple and basic. Let me know if it's ok.
> >> 
> >> Alan
> 
> Alan,
> This is a good first draft of a Quickstart, you have covered an
> appropriate depth of a use case.
> In improving it, I suggest that you add a few descriptive words around
> each step, explaining "Why" you are doing each step.
> 
> Note that our target user likely won't have heard of MapServer, won't
> know that MapServer is only server based rather than a desktop
> application, might not know what a WMS is or what styling a feature
> means. So you should add a few extra sentences to spell this out.
> 
> For a good example which uses similar terminology, I suggest looking at
> the Geoserver Quickstart:
> http://adhoc.osgeo.osuosl.org/livedvd/docs/en/quickstart/geoserver_quicksta
> rt.html
> 
> I hope you don't mind me CCing the Live List with these comments, as
> they will be applicable to other authors as well.
> 
> 
> Below are a few specific comments ...
> 
> >   MapServer Quickstart¶
> > 
> > MapServer is an Open Source <http://www.opensource.org> geographic
> > data rendering engine. It allows you create “geographic image maps”.
> 
> I suggest something like:
> ... It is a server based application which allows you to publish
> geographic map images and vector layers to the internet using OGC
> standards.
> 
> > This Quick Start describes how to:
> >         * Create a mapfile
> 
> ... Configure Mapserver through using the "mapfile" configuration file
> 
> >         * Visualize a map using Web Map Service (WMS)
> 
> ... using the Web Map Service (WMS) interface and browser client
> 
> >         * Add a new layer from a shapefile
> >         * Style a layer
> >     
> >     Create a mapfile¶
> > 
> > Firstly, we are going to create a simple mapfile.
> > 
> >    1. Open any text editor (Mousepad is the default text editor on the
> >    
> >       live dvd: /Applications ‣ Accessories ‣ Mousepad/).
> >    
> >    2. Create the file “mapserver_quickstart.map” in your home
> >    
> >       directory: /home/user/mapserver_quickstart.map
> > 
> > The file should contains the following content:
> > 
> > MAP
> > 
> >    NAME "MAPSERVER QUICKSTART"
> >    STATUS ON
> >    EXTENT -137 29 -53 88
> >    UNITS DEGREE
> >    SHAPEPATH "/home/user/data/natural_earth/"
> >    SIZE 800 600
> >    
> >    PROJECTION
> >    
> >      "init=epsg:900913"
> >    
> >    END
> >    
> >    OUTPUTFORMAT
> >    
> >      NAME 'AGG/PNG'
> >      DRIVER AGG/PNG
> >    
> >    END
> >    
> >    LAYER
> >    
> >      NAME "Admin Countries"
> >      STATUS DEFAULT
> >      TYPE POLYGON
> >      DATA "10m-admin-0-countries"
> >      CLASS
> >      
> >        STYLE
> >        
> >          COLOR 246 241 223
> >          OUTLINECOLOR 0 0 0
> >        
> >        END
> >      
> >      END
> >    
> >    END
> > 
> > END
> 
> I suggest adding a few paragraphs here explaining the structure of the
> mapfile. Explain the Field/Attribute relationship and the structure of
> the document, probably using one or 2 of the attributes as an example.
> 
> > Note
> > 
> > The example uses the natural earth dataset, which is already installed
> > on the live dvd: ~/data/natural_earth (a short cut to
> > /usr/local/share/data/natural_earth)
> > 
> >     Visualize the map using WMS¶
> 
> Add a few paragraphs here adding some background content. Probably
> explaining that mapserver is a web service, and that you are passing in
> parameters to the mapfile, and requesting a WMS request, which is then
> being built into a image. An alternative way to query would be via a WFS
> interface for vector data.
> 
> (Please don't copy my words verbatim, I'm sure you could write better)
> 
> > Open the web browser and enter the following URL:
> > 
> > http://localhost/cgi-bin/mapserv?map=/home/user/mapserver_quickstart.map&
> > SERVICE=WMS&REQUEST=Getmap&VERSION=1.1.1&LAYERS=Admin%20Countries&SRS=EPS
> > G:4326&BBOX=-137,29,-53,88&FORMAT=AGG/PNG&WIDTH=800&HEIGHT=600
> > 
> > You should see a map of north america.
> > 
> >     Add a new layer from a shapefile¶
> > 
> > We will now add a new layer to our mapfile. Before last /END/
> > statement in the mapfile, add the following layer configuration:
> > 
> > LAYER
> > 
> >    NAME "Lakes"
> >    STATUS DEFAULT
> >    TYPE POLYGON
> >    DATA "10m_lakes"
> >    CLASS
> >    
> >      STYLE
> >      
> >        COLOR 153 179 204
> >      
> >      END
> >    
> >    END
> >   
> >   END
> > 
> > In your browser, visualize the map using this URL:
> > 
> > http://localhost/cgi-bin/mapserv?map=/home/user/mapserver_quickstart.map&
> > SERVICE=WMS&REQUEST=Getmap&VERSION=1.1.1&LAYERS=Admin%20Countries,Lakes&S
> > RS=EPSG:4326&BBOX=-137,29,-53,88&FORMAT=AGG/PNG&WIDTH=800&HEIGHT=600
> > 
> > You should now see the initial map with the lakes from our new layer.
> 
> Good, again a bit of content would help. Probably point out that you
> have added "Lakes" to the URL, and a few other interesting things.
> 
> >     Style a layer¶
> 
> I suggest introduce this section by explaining what styling is (adding
> colour to the map).
> 
> > For example, we are going to style our lakes layer. The dataset
> > contains an attribute named /ScaleRank/, which is probably related to
> > the size of the lake. Modify the layer configuration to get:
> > 
> > LAYER
> > 
> >   NAME "Lakes"
> >   STATUS DEFAULT
> >   TYPE POLYGON
> >   DATA "10m_lakes"
> >   CLASSITEM "ScaleRank"
> >   CLASS
> >   
> >     EXPRESSION /0|1/
> >     STYLE
> >     
> >       COLOR 153 179 204
> >       OUTLINECOLOR 0 0 0
> >     
> >     END
> >   
> >   END
> >   CLASS
> >   
> >     STYLE
> >     
> >       COLOR 153 179 204
> >     
> >     END
> >   
> >   END
> > 
> > END
> > 
> > The above layer configuration draws big lakes in a light blue with a
> > black outlines and all other lakes will be drawn in a dark blue.
> > 
> >     What Next?¶
> > 
> > This is only the first step on the road to using MapServer. There is a
> > lot more great material (and ability) left for you to discover on our
> > website.
> 
> Suggest you briefly summarise highlights of things people will find in
> the documentation. Eg: WFS interface, web interface, how to style, how
> to ...
> 
> >     * Check MapServer documentation, tutorials and examples available
> >     
> >       on http://mapserver.org/en/documentation.html
> > 
> > Think Globally, Fix Locally
> > Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
> > http://www.lisasoft.com

-- 
Alan Boudreault
Mapgears
http://www.mapgears.com