Wide Open Spaces: MySQL as a Web Mapping Service

Backend

Don BeesingAlion Science and TechnologyUSJFCOM Experimentation

Modeling and Simulation

April 22, 2009

Overview Going to show MySQL in one aspect of GIS World Security Restrictions Feel free to ask questions

Problem Experiment based environment How to share geospatial information Many different government organizations Disparate systems on each site Fallback systems to use

Solution WMS (Web Mapping Service) OpenGIS Standard Http request returns images Can be a queryable service

Constraints Typical commercial setup Timing & dollar issues Unofficial open source policy Our idea MySQL & MapServer

Diagram of Implementation

HTTPDServer

MapServer CGI

Users with access to WMS

Publishing

Users without access to WMS

Publishing

COP COP/WMS Server

WMS Feed WMS Feed

HTTP Feed

MySQL Server

Point and click GUI

MySQL• Already a key component of lab

• Proof of concept

• Stubbornness of lab manager

MySQL Implementation• Schema setup – geometry type

• Parent/child tables for updates

• Roads not taken

–Shapefile import

MapServer• Open source

• Standards compliant

• OGR connector to link w/MySQL

• Standards version issues

• Reliance on linked WFS

MapServer Format ExampleMeta Data Header

WEB METADATA "wms_title" "J9 Noble Resolve WMS Server" "wms_onlineresource" "https://yoursite.com/mapserv?map=nr.map&" "wms_srs" "EPSG:4269 EPSG:4326" "wfs_title" "J9 Noble Resolve WFS Server" "wfs_onlineresource" "https://yoursite.com/mapserv?map=nr.map&" "wfs_srs" "EPSG:4326" ENDEND

Format ExampleLayer Info

LAYER CONNECTIONTYPE OGR CONNECTION "MYSQL:noble_resolve_08,user=test,password=test,host=127.0.0.1,port=3306" DATA "SELECT geom,id,max(update_id) as `update_ref`,object_title,IF(u.description IS NULL, g.description, u.description) as `description`, IF(u.attachments IS NULL, SUBSTRING_INDEX(SUBSTRING(g.attachments,2),',',1), SUBSTRING_INDEX(SUBSTRING(u.attachments,2),',',1)) as `Attachment` FROM geoint g LEFT JOIN geoint_updates u ON id=record_id WHERE object_type IN ('POINT','MULTIPOINT') AND incident_type='fire' GROUP BY id, update_id;" NAME "fire_points" METADATA ##wms metadata "wms_title" "fire_points" "wms_author" "USJFCOM J9" "wms_srs" "EPSG:4269 EPSG:4326" "wms_include_items" "all"

##wfs metadata "wfs_title" "fire_points" "gml_featureid" "id" "gml_include_items" "all" "gml_geometries" "standard" "gml_standard_type" "point"

Format ExampleLayer Info (cont)END TYPE POINT STATUS ON DUMP TRUE TOLERANCE 3 TRANSPARENCY 90 TEMPLATE "test.php" PROJECTION "init=epsg:4326" END CLASS NAME "fire_points" SYMBOL graphics/flames.gif END END

Giesken

James

J9 Control

Screenshot Demo

Screenshot Demo

How did MySQL grade out? Pros Cons Incompletes

Unresolved Issues – Steps Forward• Speed of Google Maps

• Grouping of layers

• Standards Assessment

• MySQL GIS function usage expansion

Thanks• Would like to thank Steve Judy who was instrumental

in the front end design and design of some of the subtables used for this project

• Also would like to thank Chris Kannan of NGA who I bounced a lot of these ideas off of and who put me in contact with people who had used MapServer before

Questions

Any Questions after the conference can be directed to: Don Beesing

dbeesing@alionscience.com

References• http://mapserver.org

• http://www.gdal.org/ogr

• http://www.opengeospatial.org

• http://www.jfcom.mil/about/experiment.html

jo