Slashgeo Log In
Which Tools for GIS-backed Web App?
posted by Satri
on Wednesday October 04, @12:56PM
Permalink
Trackback URI
Slashdotthis
Diggthis
Del.icio.us
from the wood-and-bricks dept.
Permalink
Trackback URI
Slashdotthis
Diggthis
Del.icio.us
from the wood-and-bricks dept.
xnickmx writes "I would like to create a web application where users can submit various data points that have a physical location stored in a database (e.g. store the location of an upcoming concert). Users will then be able to do proximity searches (e.g. show me all concerts within 50 miles of here). This problem seems perfectly suited to the realm of GIS, but I am a software engineer and have virtually no experience with GIS. Can the Slashgeo community point me in the right direction?
My requirements:
1. store data points based on user entering address or zip code
2. proximity search for data points based on location entered as an address or zip code
3. inexpensive or free for base software ($500)
4. very low or non-existant per-transaction fee
Nice to haves:
1. more than US-only data
2. generate maps with color-coded regions based on the number of data points in that region
3. map with geocoding (allow user to click map in order to do a proximity search) (could accomplish this with Google Maps)
4. stores data in MySQL
So far I have zeroed in on a few possible solutions, but nothing that quite fits
1. ESRI has nothing that will do the job inexpensively (sales rep quoted me $30K for Arc GIS Server)
2. MS MapPoint Webservices is expensive and has per transaction fees (sales rep said minimum $4K for 200,000 transactions — 2 cents per transaction!) Other than that, it seems perfect.
3. Many opensource GIS products, but it is not clear which one would work best. I don't think that I need a "full-featured" product, just something that meets my requirements. I have been a bit overwhelmed with opensource products out there because they appear to be focused on the professional GIS community and not at novices like myself.
Thanks for your suggestions!"
My requirements:
1. store data points based on user entering address or zip code
2. proximity search for data points based on location entered as an address or zip code
3. inexpensive or free for base software ($500)
4. very low or non-existant per-transaction fee
Nice to haves:
1. more than US-only data
2. generate maps with color-coded regions based on the number of data points in that region
3. map with geocoding (allow user to click map in order to do a proximity search) (could accomplish this with Google Maps)
4. stores data in MySQL
So far I have zeroed in on a few possible solutions, but nothing that quite fits
1. ESRI has nothing that will do the job inexpensively (sales rep quoted me $30K for Arc GIS Server)
2. MS MapPoint Webservices is expensive and has per transaction fees (sales rep said minimum $4K for 200,000 transactions — 2 cents per transaction!) Other than that, it seems perfect.
3. Many opensource GIS products, but it is not clear which one would work best. I don't think that I need a "full-featured" product, just something that meets my requirements. I have been a bit overwhelmed with opensource products out there because they appear to be focused on the professional GIS community and not at novices like myself.
Thanks for your suggestions!"
Related Stories
Industry: Microsoft's Mapping Tools for Developers
[+]
The Virtual Earth blog discuss Microsoft's mapping tools for developers. From the blog: "Software development projects come in lots of different flavors, so we provide different developer tools optimized for many environments. If you're building a SQL stored proc that needs to geocode new/updated records, a JavaScript library simply isn't the right tool. If you're building a Java based Web Service on Solaris to expose a reverse geocoding API, a COM object is a very square peg for your round hole. Microsoft offers three mapping and location services API's that work well on their own, but also integrate and work well together to provide a very rich mapping platform for just about any environment. This article will help steer you in the right direction in choosing the right SDK for your job."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Which Tools for GIS-backed Web App?
|
Log in/Create an Account
| Top
| 4 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Light solution
(Score:3, Informative)Some starting points
(Score:2)( http://alexandreleroux.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Friday March 17, @05:07PM )
"1. store data points based on user entering address or zip code"
This can probably be done. See these [slashgeo.org] stories [slashgeo.org] on batch geocoding using addresses.
"2. generate maps with color-coded regions based on the number of data points in that region
3. map with geocoding (allow user to click map in order to do a proximity search) (could accomplish this with Google Maps)
I would look at openlayers.org [openlayers.org]. Not that I ever used it myself, but I would not want to be locked-in by Google, MS or Yahoo!'s API.
"3. Many opensource GIS products, but it is not clear which one would work best."
Well, asking questions is the right thing to do?
Good luck!
Re:Some starting points
(Score:3, Interesting)http://gmapsgis.com/examples/2004election.php [gmapsgis.com]
(Javascript, PHP and MySQL)
I too have little experience with GIS. I am willing to share / collaborate.
Blog + GeoRSS + Mapufacture
(Score:2, Informative)( http://highearthorbit.com/ )