GIS and the Internet
Getting started with the UMN MapServer
MapServer Origins
Developed at UMN Remote Sensing Lab Funded by NASA Mission to Planet Earth Started as Arc/Info AML generation script Built on top of standard OpenSource projects like GD, Flex, Bison, FreeType, Proj.4 and libTIFF
System Characteristics
OpenSource software Implemented as a CGI program Written in ANSI C/C++ Source distribution
UNIX: autoconf and automake 95/98/NT: VC++ makefiles
Basic Functionality
Map creation Map component (eg. legend, scalebar and reference map) automation Web application building Simple feature query
Basic Demonstration Application
Advanced Functionality ...
On-the-fly projection (w/Proj.4) Feature annotation including scaling, rotation, outlines and drop shadows TrueType labels and symbols (w/FreeType) Feature classification- string comparision, regex and logical expressions Scale dependent display and query
Advanced Functionality...
Query by point, area or feature across multiple layers Quad-tree spatial indexing for shapefiles Support for tiled datasets (raster or vector) Label collision removal URL based configuration
Advanced Functionality
OpenGIS specification support for WMS, Context and WFS (partial) Programmatic access to underlying C APIMapScript (available for Perl, Python, Tk/Tcl, PHP and Java) 24-bit output support, including GDALbased output (e.g. GeoTIFF)
Supported File Formats
Vector Formats ESRI Shapefiles and SDE layers Inline vector features Database sources- SDE, Oracle Spatial, PostGIS Raster Formats (8-bit only) TIFF*/GeoTIFF EPPL7 WMS Numerous additional formats via GDAL/OGR
* indicates files that must be accompanied by an ESRI world file for georeferencing
MapServer Output Formats
varies based upon software build configuration image formats include GIF, PNG (8/24 bit), JPEG, WBMP, and GDAL vector formats include GML (via WMS/WFS or templates), PDF, SWF (Flash) and SVG (via templates) templates can be any text-based format (default is HTML)
So, how does it work?
Each application is configured using a text file called a map file A user adds to the configuration using an HTML form (e.g. layers, area of interest) Program results are run through a series of templates depending on the application (e.g. data browse, feature query) And the process begins again
How MapServer Works
HTTP
web server
HTTP
MapServer CGI
template files
config files
spatial data
MapServer application
How MapServer Works
config files
augment config with user input via request (e.g. what layers and where)
request (HTTP)
MapServer CGI
response (HTTP)
spatial data
template files
create map components and/or execute a query, write components to temporary web space
System Installation
Build from source Install mapserv(.exe) in CGI directory Create writable (by the user the web server runs as) temporary image store
build your application
Typical Application Layout
test (whole application stored in one place) test.map file graphics (images used in application) symbols (symbol files and icons) fonts (font files and index list) data (GIS data) *.html (supporting HTML and templates) Map file is referred to using its full path relative to the location of the MapServer CGI binary.
MapServer Map Files
Text based, hierarchical Control all aspects of an application
legends, scalebars, reference maps layer definitions web template definitions
simple one layer example
Map File Caveats
Case insensitive (with few exceptions) Paths for files are given relative to the map file location Strings must start with a letter and can contain a-z, A-Z, 0-9, - and _. All other strings must be quoted. Order of layers is significant - FIFO.
Map Object
MAP NAME application name STATUS ON|OFF IMAGECOLOR r g b UNITS METERS|FEET|INCHES| FONTSET filename SYMBOLSET filename SIZE x y Layers, Scalebar, Legend END
Basic Layer Object
LAYER NAME name GROUP name DATA filename STATUS ON|OFF|DEFAULT TYPE ANNOTATION|POINT|LINE|POLYGON|RASTER|QUERY MINSCALEDENOM n (MAXSCALEDENOM) CLASSITEM column name CLASS parameters END LABELITEM column name END
Basic Class Object
CLASS NAME full name for legend EXPRESSION string STYLE parameters END LABEL parameters END TEXT string END
Basic Style Object
STYLE ANTIALIAS TRUE|FALSE BACKGROUNDCOLOR r g b COLOR r g b OFFSET dx dy OUTLINECOLOR r g b SIZE n SYMBOL n|name END
Basic Label Object
LABEL TYPE BITMAP|TRUETYPE FONT name COLOR r g b OUTLINECOLOR r g b SIZE n|TINY|SMALL|MEDIUM|LARGE|GIANT POSITION UL|CC|LR||AUTO ANGLE n|AUTO BUFFER n ANTIALIAS TRUE|FALSE END
Legend Object
LEGEND STATUS ON|OFF KEYSIZE x y KEYSPACING x y LABEL parameters END IMAGECOLOR r g b END
Scalebar Object
SCALEBAR STATUS ON|OFF STYLE 0|1 INTERVALS n COLOR r g b BACKGROUNDCOLOR r g b OUTLINECOLOR r g b UNITS KILOMETERS|MILES|METERS| LABEL parameters END IMAGECOLOR r g b END
Reference Map Object
REFERENCE STATUS ON|OFF SIZE x y EXTENT minx miny maxx maxy COLOR r g b OUTLINECOLOR r g b IMAGE filename END
In a nut shell
This is controlled by the LAYER objects (and sub-objects), and a few MAP level These are controlled by parameters like SIZE the SCALEBAR object and EXTENT. and its LABEL object.
Controlled by the This is a template REFERENCE object. AFTER it has been processed by MapServer and returned to the users browser.
Class Object Expressions
Used to group features according to attribute table values Each layer can have multiple classes each with its own expression 3 expression types supported: string, regex and logical (can mix and match) Order of classes is significant
String Expressions
Fastest to evaluate, based on pure equality Denote using quotes Case sensitive Attribute identified using CLASSITEM
Examples: EXPRESSION Forest EXPRESSION 10
Regular Expressions
Fairly quick, advanced pattern matching Most useful with character data Denote using forward slashes Attribute identified using CLASSITEM
Examples: EXPRESSION /[Ff]orest/ EXPRESSION /hardwood|conifer/ EXPRESSION /2{2}/ EXPRESSION /./
Logical Expressions...
Slowest, but most flexible SQLlike syntax, can use multiple attributes Logical operators: eq, gt, lt, le, ge, ne, and, or Math operators: +, -, /, * and ^ Grouping using ()s Strings must be qouted Denote using ()s
...Logical Expressions
[ ]s must be used to delineate attributes, this is case sensitive Use of CLASSITEM not required
Examples: EXPRESSION ([AREA] > 10000) EXPRESSION ([AREA]/[PERIMETER] ge .5) EXPRESSION ([NAME] eq St. Paul or [ID] != 10)
