Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

Integrated Mapping, Feature Attribute Editing?

posted by Satri on Sunday December 31, @10:36AM   Printer-friendly   Email story  Permalink  Trackback URI  Slashdotthis  Diggthis  Del.icio.us
from the new-projects-for-a-new-year dept.
Ask Slashgeo Software Open Source Community
belg4mit writes "Is anyone aware of an existing (FLOSS) software package for community development? I know of various pieces I could cobble together (MapServer, OpenLayers, phpMyAdmin), but am looking for something that'll work seamlessly and be more user friendly. This is for a Community Development Corporation, and they'd like to track and map a variety of attributes for parcels in a neighborhood." I take the occasion to share my best wishes for 2007. Slashgeo.org will be back at full speed in a few days.

Related Stories

Reviews: MAPresso 4 comments [+]
belg4mit writes "Last Friday I was about to post an Ask SlashGISRS asking for cartogram software suggestions, as I'd been having no luck with Eric Wolf's Cartogram Creator for ArcMap 9; it's illsuited for world cartograms. However, I decided to do a little due diligence and came across MAPresso. I was a little reluctant to deal with a Java application but I was unable to turn up any other FLOSS software. After some tinkering and back and forth with the author I was able to iron out a few initial kinks and able to produce not only the original cartogram I sought but related interactive thematic maps. The documentation can be a little difficult to wade through, but the variety of existing examples linked from the site are a great help. While I've encountered a variety of subtle bugs with the applet and eagerly anticipate their extermination, all in all it's an exceptional tool."
MapServer 4.8.1 Released [+]
The import cartography blog indicates MapServer 4.8.1 has been released. Honestly, the changelog list is so huge I can't tell you what important features have been added. There's no roadmap on the site either (or I haven't found it).
OpenLayers 2.0 Released [+]
The Chris GISMo blog tells us OpenLayers 2.0 has been released. From the press release: "OpenLayers makes it easy to put a dynamic map in any web page. It can display map tiles and markers loaded from any source. OpenLayers is completely free, Open Source JavaScript, released under the BSD License. This new release of OpenLayers supports a number of new layer types, including support for Virtual Earth, Google, and more, alongside WMS, WFS, KaMap, and GeoRSS." The official website.
Industry: Setting up MapServer, OpenLayers and a WMS Server [+]
Dave Bouwman not only discuss MapServer, but the installation process of OpenLayers and a WMS server. From the blog: "Again, this is not the least bit earth shattering, and it's a loooong way from a production application or an in-depth understanding, but the total time investment thus far (including this write up) has been a little over one hour. Thus, I think it's safe to say that the basic learning curve here is now in the realm of reasonable. Will your manager set this up? No. But this is no more complex (and may be simpler) than setting up ArcIMS or ArcGIS Server."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Integrated Mapping, Feature Attribute Editing? | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 7 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold:
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • QGIS?

    (Score:2)
    by Satri (3) on Sunday December 31, @11:41AM (#1163)
    ( http://alexandreleroux.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Friday March 17, @04:07PM )
    I guess the gap between webmapping apps and traditional GIS features will only become narrower.

    I'd like to know the best answer to your question myself. I like what I saw of MapGuide OpenSource, but I don't think editing features directly on a webmap is possible yet [osgeo.org]. (am I wrong?) I haven't took a look at MapServer. I believe I don't have enough free time to master this beast. Maybe it's easier than I think? Ultimately, my hopes go with QGIS [qgis.org], with the soon to be released 0.8 version. I feel the QGIS development team is strong and this would be my best pick for an open source user-friendly GIS. Sure, there's a lot of missing features, but in a couple of months/years... it might become a serious GIS contender. Or I at least hope so! :-)

    I had to read wikipedia to know what a CDC is [wikipedia.org]! :-) In all cases, mastering geospatial concepts and its data is not instantaneous for non-techies. Any CDC geo-project will require someone with good knowledge of GIS to put them on track and help them answer the many questions that will arise. I have seen too many good people spending too much time on issues which could have been quickly resolved only if they would have got some help from the appropriate person.

    • Re:QGIS?

      (Score:3, Informative)
      by belg4mit (226) on Sunday December 31, @01:08PM (#1164)
      ( http://pthbb.org/ )
      I only need the ability to edit attributes, not shape geometries. As for the ability not being built into the base map server, that's the reason for the question :-P
      --
      In Bob we trust, all others bring data.
      [ Parent ]

  • PyWPS

    (Score:2, Interesting)
    by jachym (899) on Wednesday January 03, @12:10PM (#1169)
    What about PyWPS http://pywps.wald.intevation.org [intevation.org]? It tryes to bring GIS funtions to Web according to Web Processing Service standard.

    • Re:PyWPS

      (Score:3, Insightful)
      by belg4mit (226) on Wednesday January 03, @09:07PM (#1170)
      ( http://pthbb.org/ )
      I'm not sure how this is supposed to help. From what I could tell after extensive digging I found this [ominiverdi.org] which is a standard AJAX map. I don't see how this offers an integrated attribute editing tool, nor does it seem ready for prime time.
      --
      In Bob we trust, all others bring data.
      [ Parent ]

  • MIT Urban Middleware

    (Score:3, Informative)
    by rajsingh (214) on Thursday January 04, @01:06AM (#1171)
    ( http://www.rajsingh.org/ )
    Check out http://uis.mit.edu/ [mit.edu]. This is a PostGIS/PHP-based system to allow low-tech organizations do feature attribute editing and basic thematic mapping without having to do any GIS. The research project is at it's end and we're looking for real clients to test the system. Email me if you want to know more (my slashgeo name @mit.edu)