Geographic Database Management and Web Mapping Individual Assignment one

Web-Technology/ Web-Mapping

1. Introduction

Web technology is the development of the mechanism that allows two of more computer devices
to communicate over a network. For instance, in a typical office setting, a number of computers
plus additional devices such as printers may be interconnected via a network, allowing for quick
and convenient transmission of information. The processes involved in web technology are
complex and diverse, which is why major businesses employ whole departments to deal with the
issue. Web technology has revolutionized communication methods and has made operations far
more efficient.

1.1. GeoServer

GeoServer is a specific implementation of a web-mapping server, offering access to data in a

known set of formats and sources (files and databases), using specific protocols. GeoServer can
read from many different data sources, from files on the local disk to databases.

PostGIS/PostgreSQL for storing data

GeoServer for publishing data
Open Layers for visualization of data
GeoNetwork for storing and searching
metadata

The structure protocols that are used in making request for geographic data from web mapping
server include:

1. Web Map Service (WMS) 3. Web Feature Service (WFS)

2. Web Coverage Service (WCS) 4.Web Processing Service (WPS)

The Web Map Service (WMS) is a standard protocol for serving geo-referenced map images generated
by a map server. The client sends a request to a map server, then the map server generates an image based
on parameters passed to the server in the request and finally returns an image.
The WMS generates an image from whatever source material is requested, which could be vector data,
raster data, or a combination of the two.

This protocol (Web Feature Service-WFS) is used to return geographic feature data. This allows users to
create their own maps and applications from the data, to convert data between certain formats, and be able
to do raw geographic manipulations of served data.

A Web Coverage Service (WCS) is a standard that allows the visualization and provision of geospatial
data from a web server. Data can be defined by temporal and spatial characteristics and can be delivered
in multiple raster based data formats (e.g. GeoTiffs, .img, ENVI (.hdr) file types). WCS returns a server’s
available data with its original properties intact, which can be interpreted, processed and extrapolated.

Web Catalogue services (WCS) support the ability to publish and search collections of descriptive
information (metadata) for data, services, and related information objects. The following standard CSW
operations are currently supported by Geoserver

- Get Capabilities Describe Record

- GetRecordById Get Domain Get Records

1.1.1. Disadvantages of web technology

1. Reliability issues 4.   Geodata is expensive 7. 

Bandwidth issues 2.  Limited screen space 5. 
Complex to develop 8.  Copyright issues 3.   Immature
development tools 6.  Privacy issues

1.1.2. Advantages of web technology

By utilizing the Internet to access information over the web without regard to how far apart the
server and client might be from each other, web GIS introduces distinct advantages over
traditional desktop GIS, including the following:

1. A global reach 4. A large number of users

2. Better cross-platform capability 5. Low cost as averaged by the number of
users
3. Easy to use: 6. Unified updates

2. Web-Map Server
A Web Map Server is a computer program that produces maps of spatially referenced data
dynamically from geographic information. It is a simple interface for web based mapping
applications. The various protocols involve a query syntax for posting a request for the desired
layers and zoom window to the server, which returns a map as a standard picture (GIF, PNG or
other format) or as a vector format (e.g. KML, GML)

Web Map Server Workflow diagram

2.1. Types of Web map server

2.1.1. Types of Web map server (WEB)

1. Open source server software that provide web map services capability include:
A. GeoServer C. GeoWebCache E. MapServer
B. MapGuide Open Source D. World Wind Server F. QGIS Server
2. Proprietary server software that provide web map services capability include:
A. ArcGIS server C. ArcIMS F. GeoMedia
B. Oracle Map Viewer D. GeoWebPublisher G. Autodesk’s Infrastructure Map Server

2.1.2. Types of Web map server (Desktop)

1. Open source standalone (client side) software that allow viewing web map services include:

A. Geozilla B. QGIS Browser C. osgEarth D. Marble

2. Proprietary standalone (client side) software’s that allow viewing web map services include:

A. Esri ArcGIS & ArcGIS Explorer C. Google Earth

B. Global Mapper D. Geoweb3d Desktop

References: For more information refer the following website.

1. http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/
2. http://docs.geoserver.org/2.7.4/user/webadmin/