Customer Reviews

GIS for Web Developers: Adding 'Where' to Your Web Applications

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I was not familiar with GIS system and I got this book to figure out how things work. The book turned out to be a great help for me. Since everything was very new to me I ended up spending a lot of time to learn about the PostGres database, it PostGIS extention and Geoserver. So do not take it as a complete walk through tutorial but it certainly great help when you get stock somewhere. Bear in mind that I am quiet computer savvy and familiar with linux, java and such. Overall, I recommend this book if you are a web developer that wants to deal with spatial data and his needs are beyond things that can be done simply on google Map, yahoo map and such.

The book is a *solid primer* for understanding GIS data and its usage.

It will walk you through vectors, projections, and rasters. You'll be introduced to spatial databases and OCG (with a focus on Open Source tools).

This will get you going... places :)

GIS FOR WEB DEVELOPERS: ADDING WHERE TO YOUR WEB APPLICATIONS tells how to add geographic information into reports and programming ventures: an important key to advanced programming, as many major database vendors have made geographic data a standard feature of their products. Geographic Information Systems are explained using a simple survey and projects geared to hands-on instruction. College-level students of programming will find it an excellent introduction, as suitable to classroom assignment and use as it is to a lending library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Easy to read. Comprehensive. Easily one of the best IT books that I own. I am in Australia, but the US emphasis did not detract from my learning experience.

GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is one of the most important development technologies to be applied in the past few years. By using GIS concepts you can learn to apply geographic code to any and all applications easier and better than ever before. With 'GIS for Web Developers: Adding 'Where' to Your Web Applications' you can learn the ins and outs of how and why you will want to add a GIS presence to your application. With plenty of maps, code samples, and a look at the different GIS viewers and editors out there in the world today, this is a good book for any developer that wants to learn more about GISs and their relationship to GPSs.

Good introduction to the technology.

**** RECOMMENDED

If I lived in Colorado, I'd be swoooooooooooooooning over this book. Unfortunately I live in Georgia, and I've been trying to match up the Colorado information to Georgia, and it doesn't work completely.

That said, this is a piffling complaint.

In my experience so far, every URL works, exactly as described. This book is a perfect description of how to use the tools listed.

If genius really is 90% taking pains, Scott is genius++.

Thanks, Scott, I'll be using this book for years.