What is Map Server?
- OpenSource development environment for constructing spatially enabled web sites.
- Originally developed in 1994 at the University of Minnesota & funded by NASA ForNet project.
- Builds upon other popular OpenSource or freeware systems. e.g. Freetype, Proj4, GDAL/OGR
- Compiled as a CGI application.
MapServer Development History
- 1994 – Web-based Arc/Info AML
- 1997 – Version 1.0
- 1998 – Version 2.0 (Release as ForNet MapServer)
- 1999 – Version 3.0 (raster + truetype fonts added)
- 2000 – Version 3.3 (MapScript, PROJ4)
- 2001 – Version 3.5 (OGC, OGR, GDAL)
- 2002 – Version 3.7 (24bit image support)
- 2003 – Version 4.0 (Flash, PDF)
- 2004 – Version 4.4 (WMS compliant)
MapServer Features:
- Vector Support – Shapefiles, ArcSDE , Oracle Spatial, etc. *The OGR module supports many other formats.
- Raster Support – TIFF/GeoTIFF, EPPL7, ECW, Erdas, etc. *The GDAL module supports over 30 formats.
- TrueType font support.
- Map configuration file is used to create the cartography.
- Map element automation (scalebar, reference map, and legend).
- On-the-fly projection.
- Feature labeling including label collision mediation.
- Feature selection by item/value, point, area or another feature.
- Support for OGC – WMS, WFS, and WCS.
- Mapscript provides a robust development environment.
- Image output as GIF, PNG, and JPEG.
- Spatial database support with tools such as PostGIS provide a means to do spatial analysis on the fly and present the results.
- Can be compiled with Mapscript Module. (PHP, Perl, Java, Python)
- Runs on Linux, Windows, Unix, and even Mac OS.
- Maintained by twenty or more developers around the world.
- http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu
MapServer Disadvantages:
- No integrated Geocoder. Try Google contest winner Geocoder
- No automated clean up routine inherent to the software. Must write or obtain one.
- No installation program for Windows. It’s piece meal, but works. * Breaking News…There is one now. Windows Installer
- Linux installations are not for the faint of heart, but once accomplished opens up the potential for serious custom builds.
- No inherent geoprocessing, but with a spatial DB one can run spatial SQL and present the results.
- Hosting options are limited, but a minimal server is needed.
- User base is weak in our neck of the woods here in AZ.
MapServer Windows Installation:
- Get the latest binaries.
- Read the README-Install.txt.
- Copy package to C:\mapserver.
- Copy mapserv.exe from “C:\MapServer\bin” to your web server’s cgi-bin directory.
- Copy directory “Proj” to “C:\Proj” If you choose to put it somewhere else you will need a system variable.
- Copy the dynamic link libraries (the files with .dll extensions) to your system directory. e.g. “C:\Windows\system32“
- Restart your web server.
- Test MapServer by typing “http://localhost/cgi-bin/mapserv.exe”on your browser. Success =“No query information to decode. QUERY_STRING is set, but empty.”
- Get many other builds from DM Solutions including the PHP Module: Maptools