Postgres/PostGIS, pgRouting , MapServer, Apache, php, OpenLayers, Dojo

[Alavistaven2012]

Ha, I did something simlar to this for a GIS project for SA ;3

[derek5457]

Your project is great!!.I doing something similar but with the exception that I need to detect the the power off of the electric post with the help of a sensor and the shortest via to get there.I am very frendly with Jquery , mapserver,openlayer.But a friend of mine told me that QGIS is a great tool to genereate the map files but I have a question for you GisosDeveloper.¿How do you control that the way to get the hospital is a two way street?

Logica_razon@hotmail.com

[gisosdeveloper]

@derek5457 thanks for appreciation. In this project, I did not consider the case of one way street but pgrouting has an option for handling one way streets.

QGIS has a plugin which also performs network analysis. Please see it as well.

[troycrasher]

@gisosdeveloper I'm very interested with ur project. Can u tell me how to make a relation between one program to another program? Or can u suggest me a tutorial how to build web GIS like this. Thanks before.

[gisosdeveloper]

@troycrasher If you are familiar with Web development then it would be easy for you to figure out how the whole thing is working. All the spatial data is stored in Postgres/PostGIS being served through MapServer (for background map) and directly for client side rendering. For map area, I used OpenLayers and for forms Dojo . If you need help regarding any of above steps, please feel free to ask me questions. For tutorials, I suggest you look at MapServer, OpenLayers websites.

[troycrasher]

@gisosdeveloper I'm still beginner with web development. Did you convert shp files before?

[gisosdeveloper]

@troycrasher What do you mean by converting shp files? If you mean how I have loaded shp file data into database, I have have converted shp file into database script with the help of shp2pgsql utility. Then I simply executed this script file. Remember, shp file will have an SRID (-1 if there is non) so before executing the script see if your shp file SRID exists in database.

[troycrasher]

@gisosdeveloper Yes that's what I mean. Thanks.....

[troycrasher]

@gisosdeveloper Could u send me a sample of code for this web GIS????

[specialbuddy1]

How long did it take to put this together? I have been wanting to start a project similar to this. I worked for a company where something like this would be very beneficial. I could never convince them to get away from their proprietary, closed databases and would like to put something like this together to prove their is a better way to integrate maps with their data. I had to export excel sheets in order to keep my GIS up to date. Waste of time and not efficient.

[gisosdeveloper]

@specialbuddy1 If you are familiar with Open Source Technologies then it should not take more than 2 to 3 weeks to setup every thing. if your company is using ESRI's tools then PostgreSQL is being supported by ESRI's since 9.3. Even without ESRI, such type of solutions are possible and that was my point. People underestimate Open Source GIS technologies. Even proprietary solutions some times include Open Source APIs e.g ESRI's webGIS JavaScript solutions include Dojo API.

[specialbuddy1]

@gisosdeveloper Well I'm probably going to use Autocad Map. I know it can connect to postgresql. I'm doing this for myself in hopes to have some kind of website to show on my resume. I want something similar to what you have done where I can click on a parcel and see who the owner is and change the information from the browser. At my last company we used FileMaker and had Apple computers. I had a PC and autocad couldn't connect to a filemaker database.

[specialbuddy1]

Do you have a website where you describe some of this in more detail?

[gisosdeveloper]

@specialbuddy1 No I do not have any website to describe details of my work. This should not stop you from asking questions. Just post your question and I will try my best to answer it.

[newArrayGIS]

Hi. If I install apache, php, and postgreSQL/postgis, why would I need MapServer? (Another server why? I already have apache) ...Also, I was under the strong impressions that php was the workhorse delivering database content to the interfaces javascript. Where does MapServer come in? Regarding your GIS setup, how much worse would life be without MapServer? Thank you for your time.

[gisosdeveloper]

@newArrayGIS To answer your question we need to go into little details. In my solution, spatial data is in Postgres/PostGIS. There are two ways of feeding the front-end JavaScript client (in my case the client is OpenLayers). First is "Send all the spatial data to client through php generated XMLs and let the client render it on run time". Second is "Let MapServer render the static data and send it to client as Jpegs". Both options have positives and negatives. I used a combination of both :)

[newArrayGIS]

@gisosdeveloper You have been really helpful. Thank you. You are now the smartest person I know. Cheers!!

[newArrayGIS]

Thats really really awesome. I do have a question mabey you could give me a pointer: Are you using a database-generated xml file (ie. php output) for the javascript input of the open layers api? Is that how your feeding it? It looks hungry but well fed....One day when my app is born and all grown up its going to want to be like your app :-)

[gisosdeveloper]

@newArrayGIS Yes i am using php to generate XMLs for JavaScript. The trick is to render dynamic Layers on client side and fed static layers through MapServer.

Please feel free to ask more questions which can help you in your application.

[bydgoscius]

Very impressive work! :) I try create the same with google api, but MapServer is much better for customization. You realy good :)

I have several questions: why and where do You use Dojo framework, and maybe You can recommend some good tutorials? :) Thank You..

[gisosdeveloper]

@bydgoscius Thanks

I used Dojo Framework for making the context menu and forms.

[rodrigonh]

Hello, nice looking interface. I have experienced mapserver and its incredible tool, but im not proficient... How do you got the pam/zoom tool ? Its some script?

[gisosdeveloper]

@rodrigonh thanks. The interface is developed to be the main GUI of this application. The idea is that a decision maker does not loose the sight of main map.

The pan/Zoom is supported by a JavaScript library known as OpenLayers. Its like a map control.

[rahmanha]

Very interesting tool. Is this open source? Do you have any website?

[gisosdeveloper]

@rahmanha Thanks, it is a final year project and any one can have its code if that what you mean by open source. I do not have any web site till now but , i would love to help and answer questions if you have some.

[pythondocs]

@gisosdeveloper I'd love to see how you hooked up the dojo context menu with openlayers; I'm trying to figure that out for an application now. Do you have your openlayers control pop up the menu, or do you find the location somehow from your popup handlers?

[gisosdeveloper]

@pythondocs I popup the context menu on right mouse button click, it is provided by OpenLayers. Dojo context menu finds the clicked location automatically and show context menu at that location. However, i am keeping the clicked location for future use.

Is this the answers to your question?

[pythondocs]

@gisosdeveloper I managed to use the dojo machinery to create a context menu; the event that receives contains enough information to get back to the map position that was clicked. It's a little tedious to get the popup to behave like a conventional context menu, but seems to work fine.

Thanks!

[gisosdeveloper]

@pythondocs you are welcome. Let me know if you need help with Dojo or OpenLayers.