Archive for October, 2009
Baking Donuts…
Nice to see FME developers have a sense of humour!
Quantum GIS and MapServer
One of the main barriers I had to using MapServer as a web GIS server was that layers had to be symbolised i
n a text editor, using a MAPFILE. It was cumbersome to keep editing and refreshing a browser, there was no easy way to check for errors, and you have to learn the syntax and keywords.
Whilst this is ok for smaller projects where I could make these myself, larger projects require non-programmers to gather data, symbolise it, and handle the map layouts and creation.
I’ve just discovered that another of the OSGeo‘s projects, Quantum GIS (often abbreviated to QGIS) has a tool that can take a map project created and symbolised in the desktop application, and export it to a MAPFILE which can be read by MapServer. This seems to be the missing link in a complete Open Source GIS stack.
FME: Setting a Raster Output Name Dynamically
I have started to use FME more and more for data imports and data processing. I like automating any workflow as much as possible, and FME is great for this. For one part of a project had a number of similar raster processes that could be defined in a single workspace, as long as parameters could be used.
The system documentation is normally both detailed and clear, and FME also has very good support and community web sites. However in this case it took a lot of documentation reading and trial and error to work out how to change the ouput filename of a model. This may be obvious to experienced users of FME, but it had me stumped for a while.
GIS and Licensing for Developers
GIS consultants and organisations that use GIS have different needs. Consultants tend to use lots of different software, for short amounts of time, whereas organisations make daily use of software from a single vendor. ESRI have followed Microsoft’s approach of a Developers’ Network (MSDN). This allows the whole ESRI stack to be used for “development, testing, and demonstration” at a reduced price. $1500 dollars gets you an ESRI Developer Network subscription, rising to $2000 if you also want the desktop applications (ArcMap, ArcCatalog etc.).