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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, easy summary of a complex subject, January 16, 2008
This review is from: GIS for Web Developers: Adding 'Where' to Your Web Applications (Paperback)
Prior to reading this book, my experience with mapping technologies was limited to writing Google Maps applications and using its geocoder. I didn't even really understand what a geocoder was.
Scott Davis provides a friendly, easy-going assist to learning the bizarre complexities and conventions associated with real mapping technologies. I was frankly dismayed at the state of the art, with its odd compromises and incomplete, conflicting tools. But Scott leads the reader through the maze quite effectively.
If you're ready to move beyond simple markers and lines, this book shows the way to _real_ mapping applications.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good overview of web mapping, December 10, 2008
This review is from: GIS for Web Developers: Adding 'Where' to Your Web Applications (Paperback)
This book is a great introduction to web mapping for someone new to the subject, either a new developer or a manager. If you already have some GIS skills, this is still a good book, except it is becoming dated. The author is committed to open source tools, and that is the focus of the book.
The first few chapters cover the following:
-Vectors
-Projections
-Rasters
All things that would be useful for someone new and can be skipped by someone with a GIS background.
The rest of the book covers the following general concepts:
-The Open Geospatial Consortium and their web service specifications
-Geospatial databases
The author then gets into specifics on the following:
-Geoserver
-Mapbuilder (no longer an active project)
-Openlayers
He gives some information on Google Maps, Mapserver, and other products, but no real detail.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Real "Map Guy" Shows You How to Get There, January 31, 2008
This review is from: GIS for Web Developers: Adding 'Where' to Your Web Applications (Paperback)
We have a hard time as software engineers mastering our own concepts. Once we are asked to work in a non-trivial domain like geospatially-enabled environments, it is easy to get lost (pun intended). This book acts as a map to the world of maps. It shows you where you are; in this case, building web-based applications that need to visualize spatially-oriented data. It shows you where you can go without taking too many trips down unnecessary rabbit holes. In short, Scott walks masterly on the very fine line of theory and practice making it both useful and instructive.
In addition to the informational content, the book is one of the more beautiful computer books I've seen recently. The decision to go with color plates for the images is key. In order to fully appreciate the power of visual contexts like this, you have to see the richness of the data.
I worked on one of the first "whole Earth" environments 14 years ago and would have gone bananas for a book like this. The field has changed pretty dramatically since then with the emergence of both the Web and rich and complicated standards like those we are seeing from the OGC. This book lays enough foundation of the theory and catches you up to the new and sexy tools available to us now.
We are not genetically-programmed to stare at words and tables. We are visual creatures and gain real insights when we can see relationships literally laid out in front of us.
Do your customers and users a favor and add some "where" to your applications. Do yourself a favor and pick up this guide to help you along the way.
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