RGIS605: Loc.

Based services and Web GIS

WebGIS Principles and History

Outline

• Brief introduction of GIS and the web.

• Discuss types of internet GIS systems and their
impact.
• Review the evolution of GIS technology from
centralized GISystems to Distributed GIServices.
• Introduce basic components of Web GIS.
• Discuss evolution of web Mapping technology
• Types of Web Maps
• Web Mapping Technologies
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GIS as a Support System

• GIS has become a critical component in our lives:

– Land & Real Estate Management
– Transportation & Traffic Engineering
– Environmental Studies
– Urban Planning
– Civil Engineering
– Facilities & Building Management
– Fleet Control & Routing
–
–
The Web has changed everything

New and more efficient business models have emerged, making

previous models increasingly obsolete.
GIS + Web
Types of Internet GIS Systems

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Impacts of the Internet on GIS
• GIS data access:
– Internet provides easy access to acquire GIS data (that was previously
impossible) from different data providers.
– GIS data warehouse and digital libraries are two common forms of Internet
data access systems.

• Spatial information dissemination:

– The Internet enables the dissemination of GIS analysis results and spatial
information to much wider audience
– Public can now directly access spatial information and explore spatial
patterns and relationships from their web browsers at home
– Professionals can report on and update maps and data in the field.

• GIS modeling/processing
– Internet enhances the accessibility and reusability of GIS analysis tools by
dynamically downloading or uploading GIS processing components.
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GIS Technology Trend:
From Centralized GISystems to Distributed GIServices
Mobile GIS

Internet GIS

Mainframe GIS Desktop GIS Distributed GIS

More Accessibility

The development of GIS technology has evolved from mainframe GIS to desktop GIS
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to distributed GIS, which includes Internet GIS and mobile GIS.
Traditional/Centralized GISystems

• Closed, centralized systems, incorporate

programs (logic) and data.
• Platform and application dependent
• Migrating to other systems with different
operating systems or platform is difficult.
• Very limited accessibility
– Accessible to GIS professionals only

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Desktop GIS Systems
• Built upon the advancement of Local Area
Networking (LAN) technology
• Based on the generic client/server architecture
– Divides processing between client side components
(desktop) and server-side components (databases and
programs).
– Client (desktop) requests data, server only transmits the
result of the request, not the entire file.

• Thin versus Thick clients

– Thin client; there is little or no logic processing at the client side.
– Thick client; Most logic processing is performed at the client side.
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Distributed GIS Systems
(Web-based, Internet and Mobile GIS)
• Built upon a more advanced Web and interworking schemes
– Distributed-component technology (Java, J2EE, etc.)
– Web services Technology (WMS, WFS, etc.)
– Internet Maps and GIS Servers
– Networking technologies (Wireless, Optical, UMTS, 3G, …)

• Can connect to and interact with multiple and heterogeneous

systems and platforms without the constraints of traditional
client/server relationship.

• Distributed GIS is
– a distributed, interactive and dynamic system.
– A cross-platform and interoperable system
– Very accessible 11
Computing Platforms:
Layering & Market Share Shifts

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Web-based GIS
Client-Server Architecture

• Client = computers,
tablets, phones, etc.
• Client requests data from
server
• Server processes request
and returns result
• Client uses result (render a
webpage, data from
database)

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Client-Side Web Languages

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) = used to create the

basic structure and content of a webpage
– https://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp

• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) = used to design the

webpage (where everything is placed and how it looks)
– https://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp

• JavaScript = define the interactive elements of a webpage

that helps to engage the users
– https://www.w3schools.com/js/default.asp

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AJAX

• AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript And XML

• Allows web pages to be updated asynchronously
by exchanging data with a web server
• Makes it possible to update parts of a page
without reloading the whole page

– https://www.w3schools.com/whatis/whatis_ajax.asp

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Server-Side Web Languages
• PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) = server-side scripting language that is free and executed on the
server.
– Generate dynamic page content
– Create, open, read, write, delete, and close files on server
– Collect form data
– Send and receive cookies
– Add, delete, and modify data in a database
– Control user access
– Encrypt data

– https://www.w3schools.com/PHP/Default.asp

• SQL (Structure Query Language) = allows you to access and manipulate databases
– Execute queries against databases
– Retrieve data from a database
– Insert records into a database
– Update records in a database
– Create new databases
– Create new tables in a database
– Create stored procedures in a database
– Create views in a database
– Set permissions on tables, procedures, and views

– https://www.w3schools.com/sql/

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Node.js

• Node.js is an open source server environment.

– Run JavaScript on the server
– Generate dynamic page content
– Create open, read, write, delete, and close files on the
server
– Collect form data
– Add, delete, modify data in your database

• https://www.w3schools.com/nodejs/default.asp
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URL

• URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A URL is the address of a

given unique resource on the Web. Each valid URL points to a unique
resource. Such resources can be an HTML page, a CSS document, an
image, etc…
• A URL is composed of different parts, some mandatory and others optional.

• Examples
– https://developer.mozilla.org
– https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/
– https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/search?q=URL

Source:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/Web_mechanics/What_is_a_URL#scheme 19
Evolution of Web Mapping Technology

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Evolution of Web Mapping Technology
• 1st Generation (1993 – 1999)
1. Characterized by simple HTML protocols and mostly static maps.
2. E.g. The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) Map Viewer ,
GRASSLinks, The TIGER Map Server, and MapQuest
• 2nd Generation (1995 – 2004) – “WebGIS era”
1. Took advantage of emerging technologies like Dynamic HTML, Java and
ActiveX to produce sites with greater interactivity and performance
2. E,g. ESRI's ArcIMS and Intergraph's GeoMedia Web Map
• 3rd Generation (2005 – Present) – “mashup generation”
1. Brought significant improvements in performance
2. Uses Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
3. E.g. Google Maps, Yahoo! and MapQuest. ESRI ArcGIS
• 4th Generation (2005 – Present) – “3-D generation”
1. Greater realism of the world through the use of 3-D globes and immersive
environments
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2. E.g. Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth
Evolution of Web Mapping Technology
1st Generation (1993 – 1999)
Characterized by simple HTML protocols and mostly static maps.

1.The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) Map Viewer (1993).
– interactive world map enabled users to toggle the display of national
boundaries and rivers, change scale, change projection and add place marks.
2. GRASSLinks, a web interface developed at UC-Berkeley (1995).
– It made it possible to view datasets, pan and zoom, and importantly, click on
the map to obtain information about the clicked location
3.The TIGER Map Server, developed by U.S. Census Bureau (1997)
– A web interface that made it possible to toggle on/off many of the geographic
entities in the TIGER dataset.
4.Mapquest - first interactive mapping site aimed at consumers (1996)
– provided turn-by-turn driving directions in much the same way that Google is
the most popular search engine today.

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The Xerox PARC Map Viewer

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The TIGER Map Server

RGIS605: Location Based Services 24

and Web-Based GIS | Spring 2009
Evolution of Web Mapping Technology
2nd Generation (1995 -2004)
• Took advantage of emerging technologies like Dynamic
HTML, Java and ActiveX to produce sites with greater
interactivity and performance.
• This so-called "WebGIS" era saw GIS vendors develop
server-based software (such as ESRI's ArcIMS and
Intergraph's GeoMedia Web Map) so that their clients
(particularly public sector agencies) could put their
geographic data online.
• These sites suffered from two main flaws:
1. complicated user interfaces that were intimidating
(discouraging) to the general public
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2. slow performance.
Evolution of Web Mapping Technology
3rd Generation (2005 - Present)
• Brought significant improvements in performance
• A new technology called Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript
and XML) enabled web developers to finally develop
sites that responded more like desktop applications than
the "click-and-wait" applications of the past.
• The first site that took advantage of Ajax programming
techniques — Google Maps.
• Then followed by Yahoo! and MapQuest.
• ESRI improved on its web server software by
incorporating Ajax into its ArcGIS Server product.
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Evolution of Web Mapping Technology
3rd Generation (2005 - Present) – cont.
• Google then decided to make the Application
Programming Interface (API) for their Maps application
public.
– To allow third-party developers to mix in their own content
– Yahoo! and MapQuest followed suit.
• The result was an explosion of custom mapping
applications and the addition of a new term to the web
mapping lexicon — mashup
– (The term mashup traces its roots to the music industry, where it is used to
describe the mixing of tracks from two or more songs to produce a new song).

• Thus, the 3rd generation of web mapping can be

thought of as the "mashup generation“. 27
Mashup
‘Mashup’ is the combination of content from more than
one data source into one dynamic map service. (ESRI)

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Mashup (cont.)

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Evolution of Web Mapping Technology
4th Generation (2005 - Present)
• This generation is characterized by applications that strive for
greater realism in our representations of the world through the
use of 3-D globes and immersive environments.
• Google is also a pioneer in this generation with its Google Earth
application (June 2005).
– A development Milestone
– The most popular Internet GIS application ever
– 200 million installations at the beginning of 2007!!!
– Brought geospatial data and services to the Internet-Literate masses
• Other popular globe technologies include Microsoft's Virtual
Earth and NASA's WorldWind.

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Types of Web Maps

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Types of Web Maps

• Static Web maps

• Dynamically created web maps (e.g.: from database)
• Distributed web maps (various data sources)
• Animated web maps Increasing
Sophistication
• Real-Time web maps (e.g.: weather or traffic)
• Personalized web maps (user-defined style)
• Interactive web maps
• Analytic web maps (GIS analysis)
• Collaborative web maps (distributed data
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acquisition)
 Types of Web Maps (cont.)
• Static Web maps
• The digital equivalents of paper maps; the content of the map is static.
• Maps are downloaded as images such as (TIFFs or JPEGs)
• These maps may also include hot links.
• Users may also be able to zoom in or out on the map,
• Dynamically created web maps
• Maps are generated on the fly when users load the associated page.
• Maps are updated on regular basis with more up to date data (e.g.
Traffic maps, weather maps).
• Users do NOT have any input into what is displayed
• Distributed web maps
• Compiled from distributed data sources. It could also involve the
extraction from other websites
• This might involve the use of formal data sharing protocols such as the
Web Map Service (WMS), Web Feature Service (WFS) or Web
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Coverage Service (WCS) standards.
 Types of Web Maps (cont.)
• Animated web maps - are most often associated with the
display of snapshots of the same map variable taken at
different times.

• For example, the

animated map below
shows the results of U.S.
Senate campaign polls
conducted in the weeks
leading up to the 2006
elections.

• Weather maps are also commonly animated to illustrate changing

weather patterns. 34
 Types of Web Maps (cont.)
• Real-Time web maps
• Weather maps are perhaps the most commonly viewed type
in the real-time map category.
• The collection of data is usually automated through the use
of sensors, such as those installed along urban road
networks to detect vehicular traffic.
• Personalized web maps (user-specified themes)
• Allow users to have some input into the look of the map and
control over which themes should be displayed.
• Such input could include its color scheme, title, legend,
scale bar or any other map element that one might have
control over when constructing a map in a GIS package.

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 Types of Web Maps (cont.)
• Interactive web maps - it includes the ability to:
• Response to user queries and Toggle map layers on/off
• Obtain detailed information about map features,
• Produce personalized maps
• Explore data patterns and relationships using visualization tools
that are dynamically linked to the map.
• Analytic web maps
• Enabled the public to perform analyses that had previously only
been available to GIS professionals. Eg: route finding
• Collaborative web maps
• includes those maps in which a distributed network of people
create and maintain the map.
• Allow users to add new contents on their own (Google Map API).
• E.g. new layers or other media (photos, Video clips)
• Such sites are similar in concept to Wikipedia. 36
 Current Web Mapping Technologies
• Commercial:
• ArcGIS Server (ESRI)
• GeoMedia WebMap (Intergraph)
• MapXtreme (MapInfo)
• MapGuide (Autodesk)
• Open source:
• MapServer
• GeoServer
• OpenLayers
• Adobe Flex (actually part open, part proprietary)
• Public APIs:
• Google Maps
• Yahoo! Maps
• Microsoft Virtual Earth (2D)
• MapQuest's OpenAPI
• Globes:
• Google Earth
• Microsoft Virtual Earth (3D)
• ArcGIS Explorer
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• NASA WorldWind
Current Web Mapping Technologies
• Commercial:
• Provide the greatest flexibility in terms of including numerous data layers of varied types in
an application.
• They also provide the easiest means of incorporating analytic functions into an application
and generally have good technical support.
• The obvious disadvantage is that they can be very expensive.
• Open source:
• The obvious advantage is that they are free.
• Their downsides are that it is typically harder to get a site up and running, technical
support is not as good and the sites themselves often lack a "professional" look and feel.
• Public APIs:
• The biggest advantages are that they are free and the API provider supplies a set of base
layers whose resolution change logically as the map's scale is changed.
• Developers need only worry about adding the information they are trying to convey on top
of the base layers.
• The base layers can be a disadvantage if you don't like them or they don't meet your
needs. They are also not well suited to showing large datasets
• Globes:
• The globe technologies add a realism and a "wow" factor that is not present in the 2-D
technologies. Their downside is that they require the installation of either a separate
application or a browser plug-in to be viewed, unlike the 2-D maps that are viewable in
standard web browsers.
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Finding GIS Resources

• Dennis Pringle’s page

http://www.nuim.ie/staff/dpringle/courses/hdip/index.htm
• NJ Geographic Information Network
http://njgin.state.nj.us/
• Federal Geo One stop
http://geodata.gov
References

– Pinde Fu, and Jiulin Sun. 2010. Web GIS: Principles

and Applications. ESRI Press. Redlands, CA. ISBN
158948245X

– Tsou, M.H. (2004). Integrating Web-based GIS and On-

line Remote Sensing Facilities for Environmental
Monitoring and Management. The Journal of
Geographical Systems, No. 6: 1-20.

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 WEB Maps (Examples)
allows interactive exploration
• Bing Maps. Part of the Microsoft search engine suite. Incorporates
Virtual Earth - the Microsoft equivalent og Google Earth.
• Google Earth. Explore the earth. Maps, photos, anything else people
care to upload. (Requires download to run, but free).
• Google Maps. Maps and satellite imagery. The leading map source for
mashups.
• Map Point. Microsoft site to search for places, addresses. Many
countries, but not Ireland.
• Mapquest UK. Maps and driving directions for UK and other countries.
Patchy on Ireland.
• National Geographic. Maps, satellite images, etc.
• Open Street Map. OpenStreetMap is a free, open geographic database
updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open
collaboration.
• World Wind (NASA). Java SDK for NASA equivalent of Google Earth.
Can embed maps in your own web pages.
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Next lecture

• Web Mapping and GIS Web Services

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