book

Web Mapping Illustrated

Name: Web Mapping Illustrated
Author: Tyler Mitchell
ISBN: 9780596554866

by Tyler Mitchell

June 2005

Beginner to intermediate

372 pages

10h 1m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Web Mapping Illustrated
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A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
Foreword
Preface
Youthful Exploration
The Tools in This Book
What This Book Covers
Organization of This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Safari Enabled

Comments and Questions
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction to Digital Mapping
1.1. The Power of Digital Maps
1.2. The Difficulties of Making Maps
1.2.1. Personal Maps1.2.2. Technology Barriers
1.3. Different Kinds of Web Mapping
1.3.1. Web Map Users1.3.2. Web Sites with a Web Mapping Component1.3.2.1. Behind the web page1.3.2.2. Making your own web mapping site
2. Digital Mapping Tasks and Tools
2.1. Common Mapping Tasks
2.2. Common Pitfalls, Deadends, and Irritations
2.2.1. Finding Good Source Data2.2.2. Dependency on Digital Tools2.2.3. Understanding Data Formats2.2.4. Using the Right Tools
2.3. Identifying the Types of Tasks for a Project
2.3.1. Viewing and Mapping2.3.2. Analysis2.3.3. Creating and Manipulating2.3.4. Conversion2.3.5. Sharing
3. Converting and Viewing Maps
3.1. Raster and Vector
3.2. OpenEV
3.3. MapServer
3.3.1. Data Access and Performance3.3.2. Portability
3.4. Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL)
3.4.1. Raster Formats Supported by GDAL3.4.2. Programming Libraries3.4.3. GDAL Utilities
3.5. OGR Simple Features Library
3.5.1. Vector Formats Supported by OGR3.5.2. OGR Utilities and Examples
3.6. PostGIS
3.6.1. GIS Analysis with SQL
3.7. Summary of Applications
4. Installing MapServer
4.1. How MapServer Applications Operate
4.2. Walkthrough of the Main Components
4.2.1. MapServer Executable4.2.2. MapServer's Map File4.2.3. Data Sources4.2.4. Output Map Image
4.3. Installing MapServer
4.3.1. Platforms4.3.2. Acquiring MapServer Binaries4.3.2.1. Windows versions4.3.2.2. Linux binaries4.3.2.3. Linux GIS distributions4.3.2.4. Linux RPM versions4.3.2.5. Debian Linux versions4.3.2.6. Mac OS X4.3.3. Compiling MapServer Source Code4.3.3.1. Downloading sources4.3.3.2. Configuring sources4.3.3.3. configure options4.3.3.4. Dependencies4.3.3.5. Making a compile4.3.3.6. Installation4.3.3.7. A quick test of the install
4.4. Getting Help
5. Acquiring Map Data
5.1. Appraising Your Data Needs5.1.1. Vector Maps or Raster Maps?5.1.2. What Kind of Vector Data Do You Require?5.1.3. What Kind of Raster Data Do You Require?5.1.4. What Scale of Map Do You Require?5.1.5. Do You Need Three Dimensions?
5.2. Acquiring the Data You Need
5.2.1. Finding Premade Maps5.2.2. Finding Satellite Images or Shaded Surface Maps5.2.3. Finding Map Data
6. Analyzing Map Data
6.1. Downloading the Demonstration Data
6.2. Installing Data Management Tools: GDAL and FWTools
6.3. Examining Data Content
6.3.1. Viewing Summary Information About Airports6.3.2. Viewing Detailed Airport Location Information6.3.3. Viewing Statistics About a Satellite Image
6.4. Summarizing Information Using Other Tools
6.4.1. Setting Up Processing Tools for Non-GNU Platforms6.4.2. Using ogrinfo to List Data in a Shapefile6.4.3. Using grep to Show Only the Names of the Airports6.4.4. Using wc to Count the Number of Airport Names6.4.5. Using sed to Find Specific Patterns in Airport Names6.4.6. Use sed to Reformat Print Results6.4.7. Using sed to Remove Lines and Trim the Front End of Lines6.4.8. Using sort to Create a List of Ordered Elevations6.4.9. Using uniq to Summarize Results of Duplicate Lines6.4.10. Other Powerful Text-Processing Tools
7. Converting Map Data
7.1. Converting Map Data
7.2. Converting Vector Data
7.2.1. Geography Markup Language (GML)7.2.2. Converting a Shapefile to GML7.2.3. Creating a New File with Only a Subset of Point Features7.2.4. Putting One Airport to a New Shapefile7.2.5. Converting Shapefiles to Other File Formats7.2.6. Converting to a PostgreSQL Database
7.3. Converting Raster Data to Other Formats
7.3.1. Translating an Image to Another Format7.3.2. Using gdal_translate to Create a JPEG Preview of a Satellite Image7.3.3. Clipping an Area of Interest and Creating a Small JPEG of a Satellite Image
8. Visualizing Mapping Data in a Desktop Program
8.1. Visualization and Mapping Programs8.1.1. Other Open Source Mapping Programs8.1.2. Other Free-to-Use Programs8.1.3. Other Commercial Programs
8.2. Using OpenEV
8.2.1. Installing OpenEV8.2.2. Loading Sample Map Data into OpenEV8.2.3. Open the Airports Shapefile8.2.4. Using the Layers Window8.2.5. Changing General Layer Settings8.2.6. Changing Draw Styles for Layers8.2.7. Adding More Data to the View
8.3. OpenEV Basics
8.3.1. Zooming8.3.2. Panning8.3.3. Color Theming8.3.4. Loading a Raster8.3.5. Reprojecting Data to Match Another Layer8.3.6. Creating a 3D View8.3.6.1. Preparing the Digital Elevation Model8.3.6.2. Preparing the drape image8.3.6.3. Initiating the 3D view8.3.6.4. Navigating the 3D view
9. Create and Edit Personal Map Data
9.1. Planning Your Map9.1.1. Choosing a General Scale and Extent9.1.2. Identifying Data Requirements for Your Base Map9.1.3. What Are Your Sources?9.1.3.1. GPS9.1.3.2. Air photo interpretation9.1.3.3. Derived products9.1.3.4. Local knowledge
9.2. Preprocessing Data Examples
9.2.1. Clipping Out an Area of Interest9.2.2. Starting to Draw Your Map Features9.2.2.1. Mapping locations of interest (point data)9.2.2.2. Creating and saving tabular attributes9.2.2.3. Mapping roads and transportation paths (linear datalinear data9.2.2.4. Mapping regions of interest (area/polygons data)
10. Creating Static Maps
10.1. MapServer Utilities
10.2. Sample Uses of the Command-Line Utilities
10.2.1. Acquire Some Mapping Data10.2.2. Creating a Simple MapServer Map File10.2.3. Map File Rules and Recommendations10.2.4. Creating Your First Map Image10.2.5. Adding Labels to the Map10.2.6. Determining the Extent of a Country10.2.7. Color Theming the Map10.2.8. Understanding Operators10.2.9. Creating a Map Legend10.2.10. Adding a Scale Bar Using the scalebar Command10.2.11. The Final Map File
10.3. Setting Output Image Formats
11. Publishing Interactive Maps on the Web
11.1. Preparing and Testing MapServer11.1.1. MapServer for Windows (MS4W)11.1.2. MapServer on Linux with Apache11.1.3. Configuring Apache11.1.3.1. Windows temporary image folder location11.1.3.2. Linux temporary image folder location11.1.4. Testing and Troubleshooting11.1.4.1. Testing mapserv.exe on Windows11.1.4.2. Testing mapserv with Apache on Linux11.1.5. Testing the MapServer Setup Using a Demo Application
11.2. Create a Custom Application for a Particular Area
11.2.1. Changing the Initial Extent of the Map11.2.2. Changing the Map Projection11.2.2.1. Setting the map and layer projections11.2.2.2. Choosing an output map projection11.2.2.3. EPSG projection codes versus project details11.2.2.4. Modifying the map extent11.2.3. Modifying Image Size to Better Fit the Extent of the Map11.2.4. Adding Zoom and Recenter Tools to the Web Page11.2.5. Adding a List of Layers to Choose From11.2.6. Adding a Legend to the Application11.2.6.1. Removing the embedded legend from the map file11.2.6.2. Adding the legend graphic to the web page11.2.6.3. Adding a link to the legend image11.2.7. Adding a Scale Bar to the Application11.2.8. Adding an Overview/Reference Map to the Application
11.3. Continuing Education
12. Accessing Maps Through Web Services
12.1. Web Services for Mapping
12.2. What Do Web Services for Mapping Do?
12.2.1. Why Use These Services?12.2.2. Internal Versus External Needs
12.3. Using MapServer with Web Services
12.3.1. Web Map Service (WMS)12.3.1.1. Checking the capabilities of a WMS provider12.3.1.2. Manually requesting a map from a WMS source12.3.1.3. Adding a WMS layer to a MapServer map file12.3.1.4. Using MapServer as a WMS server12.3.1.5. Checking your own WMS capabilities document12.3.2. Web Feature Service (WFS)12.3.2.1. Checking the capabilities of a WFS provider12.3.2.2. Manually requesting data from a WFS source12.3.2.3. Adding a WFS layer to a MapServer map file12.3.2.4. Using MapServer as a WFS server12.3.2.5. Checking your own WFS capabilities document
12.4. Reference Map Files
13. Managing a Spatial Database
13.1. Introducing PostGIS
13.2. What Is a Spatial Database?
13.2.1. Server-Based GIS
13.3. Downloading PostGIS Install Packages and Binaries
13.3.1. PostGIS for Windows13.3.2. PostGIS for Linux13.3.2.1. RPM packages13.3.2.2. Debian packages13.3.3. PostGIS for Mac OS X
13.4. Compiling from Source Code
13.5. Steps for Setting Up PostGIS
13.5.1. Getting PostgreSQL Up and Running13.5.2. Enabling pl/pgsql Language Support13.5.3. Loading the postgis.sql Script13.5.4. Loading the spatial_ref_sys.sql Script13.5.5. Testing PostGIS Functionality
13.6. Creating a Spatial Database
13.7. Load Data into the Database
13.7.1. Using shp2pgsql13.7.2. Using ogr2ogr
13.8. Spatial Data Queries
13.8.1. Building Spatial Indexes13.8.2. Critical Tabular Indexes13.8.3. Querying for Spatial Proximity13.8.3.1. Find the county for a given point13.8.3.2. Querying for nearby county polygons13.8.3.3. Planning to visualize query results
13.9. Accessing Spatial Data from PostGIS in Other Applications
13.9.1. Exporting PostGIS Data into a Shapefile or GML13.9.2. Viewing PostGIS Data in OpenEV13.9.3. Viewing PostGIS Data in MapServer13.9.3.1. Highlighting a subset of shapes13.9.3.2. Using subqueries for more complex SQL13.9.3.3. Using PostGIS attributes to draw labels13.9.4. Using PostGIS in Other Applications13.9.4.1. ArcMap and PostGIS
14. Custom Programming with MapServer's MapScript
14.1. Introducing MapScript
14.2. Getting MapScript
14.2.1. Building MapScript from Source Code14.2.2. Obtaining Binary Versions of MapScript14.2.3. Getting Help
14.3. MapScript Objects
14.4. MapScript Examples
14.4.1. Opening the Map File and Drawing the Map14.4.2. Manipulating Map Settings14.4.3. Creating a Map File from Scratch
14.5. Other Resources
14.6. Parallel MapScript Translations
A. A Brief Introduction to Map Projections
A.1. The Third Spheroid from the SunA.1.1. Geographic Coordinate SystemA.1.1.1. Decimal degrees versus degrees minutes secondsA.1.2. Map Projections: Flattening the SpheroidA.1.3. Planar/Projected Coordinate System
A.2. Using Map Projections with MapServer
A.2.1. EPSG CodesA.2.1.1. EPSG versus epsg
A.3. Map Projection Examples
A.3.1. Simple Cylindrical ProjectionA.3.1.1. MapServer syntaxA.3.2. Orthographic ProjectionA.3.2.1. MapServer syntaxA.3.3. Mercator ProjectionA.3.3.1. MapServer syntaxA.3.4. Transverse Mercator ProjectionA.3.4.1. MapServer syntaxA.3.5. Albers Equal Area ProjectionA.3.5.1. MapServer syntaxA.3.6. Stereographic ProjectionA.3.6.1. MapServer syntaxA.3.7. Universal Transverse Mercator ProjectionA.3.7.1. MapServer syntax
A.4. Using Projections with Other Applications
A.5. References
B. MapServer Reference Guide for Vector Data Access
B.1. Vector DataB.1.1. MapServer and Vector Data AccessB.1.1.1. Using OGRB.1.2. Data Format TypesB.1.2.1. File-based dataB.1.2.2. Directory-based dataB.1.2.3. Database connections
B.2. Data Format Guide
ESRI Shapefiles (SHP)
PostGIS/PostgreSQL Database
MapInfo Files (TAB/MID/MIF)
Oracle Spatial Database
Web Feature Service (WFS)
Geography Markup Language Files (GML)
VirtualSpatialData (ODBC/OVF)
TIGER/Line Files
ESRI ArcInfo Coverage Files
ESRI ArcSDE Database (SDE)
Microstation Design Files (DGN)
IHO S-57 Files
Spatial Data Transfer Standard Files (SDTS)
Inline MapServer Features
National Transfer Format Files (NTF)
About the Author
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Content preview from Web Mapping Illustrated

Creating a Spatial Database

The template1 database is the default system template used when creating new databases. Don't use it as an operational database! Instead, create a new database for your projects. New databases are created using the command-line program createdb, followed by the name that identifies the new database:

> createdb project1
CREATE DATABASE

In this case, the new database is called project1. The text that is printed out (CREATE DATABASE) confirms that the command ran and finished. Now when existing databases are listed, project1 should be included:

> psql -l
       List of databases
    Name    |   Owner  | Encoding
------------+----------+-----------
 project1   | tyler    | SQL_ASCII
 template0  | postgres | SQL_ASCII
 template1  | postgres | SQL_ASCII
(3 rows)

The project1 database is now ready for data loading. To quit psql, use the \q command.

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Web Mapping Illustrated

by Tyler Mitchell

Creating a Spatial Database

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