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A Comparative Assessment of Internet GIS Server Systems
Teerayut Horanont, Dr.Nitin Kumar Tripathi, Dr.Venkatesh Raghavan
Space Technology Applications and Research Program,
School of Advanced Technologies
Asian Institute of Technology,
P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
Tel: (66 2) 524 6392, Fax: (66 2) 524 5597,
Email: nitinkt@ait.ac.th
Dr.Phisan Santitamnont
Survey Engineering Department, Chula Longkorn University
Introduction
WEBGIS is a Geographic Information System (GIS) distributed across a computer network to integrate, disseminate, and communicate geographic information visually on the World Wide Web (Edward, 2000, URL). In performing the GIS analysis tasks, this service is similar to the Client-Server architecture of the Web. The geo-processing breaks down into a server-side and client-side task that make the users will be able to access, manipulate and retrieve the GIS data from their browser without purchasing proprietary GIS software.
A client typically is a Web browser and the server-side consists of a Web server that provides a WebGIS software program. The client requests for a map or some geo-processing over the Web to the remote server. The server translates the request into an internal code and invokes the GIS functions by passing on the request to the WebGIS software. The software returns the result that is reformatted for interpretation by the client browser application itself or with additional functionality from a plug-in or Java applet. The server then returns the result to the client for display, or sends data and analysis tools to the client for use on the client-side (Peng, 1997; Plewe, 1997, p.5).
Much recent attention has focused on developing GIS functionality in the Internet. WebGIS holds the potential to make distributed geographic information (DGI) available to a very large worldwide audience. The challenge of WebGIS lies in creating software systems that are platform independent and run on open TCP/IP-based networks, which is on any computer capable of connecting to the Internet (or any TCP/IP-based network) and running a Web browser (Kenneth, 1997, URL). Regarding to this approach, GIS software have to be redesigned for the WebGIS application according to meet the Internet specifications.
As the Internet have been coming as a major means to drive the network GIS services. Many of GIS vendors developed their own WebGIS software packages that provide the various kinds of GIS functions and analysis. The research has implemented with the MapInfo MapXtreme Java 4.0, ESRI ArcView IMS 1.0a and Minnesota MapServer 3.6.1. This particular selection is based on the currently available of WebGIS software. The research has evaluated these three packages related to the web mapping applications and implemented by using Phuket data.
Research objectives
- Comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of different system architecture for providing GIS functionality in the Web.
- Assessment of each WebGIS applications on the various approaches was done by reviewing the product document as well as providing access to a comprehensive set of mapping display, query and manipulation methods and properties.
- Implementation on Web map server to accomplish the benchmarking of two commercials and one open source software packages by means of their features, components, system environment as well as the practical test on a specific application.
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