Beyond the Desktop
Open Source Experiments in Web Mapping
Malcolm Meyer | Nick Kroncke
Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission
Ohio GIS Conference September 30, 2016
Interactive Data Visualizations
Native Mobile Apps
Machine Learning
Yellow roads were programatically mapped by Facebook.
Cartography as Art
UAV Mapping
Of Course...
Web GIS Trends
So You want a Web Application?
- In-House vs Third Party Developer
- Free Open Source Software (FOSS) vs Proprietary Solutions
Issue: "Out of the box" solutions can limit your capabilities while open source development appears too complex
Solution: Understand the limitations and use the best tool for the job
Rolling Your Own Solution
Modern GIS Toolkit
ArcGIS Desktop | Python | QGIS |
And Many More...
What Tools does OVRDC Use?
- ArcMap & QGIS
- Leaflet & Chart.js
- Atom & Sublime Text (Text Editors)
- Jekyll (www.ovrdc.org/apps)
- GitHub (Code Repository)
- Google Drive & Google APIs
- Wordpress (www.ovrdc.org)
- ArcGIS Online & Carto
In FOSS There is No Help Desk!!
Resources to Get Started
- Codecademy, Khan Academy, CodePin (Javascript)
- YouTube!!
- Jekyll Website Templates (HTML)
- Formal Training
Troubleshooting
- Official Forums, Documentation & Examples
- GitHub/Code Repository Issue Trackers
- Interact Directly with the Developers
- Stack Exchange/Overflow & Reddit
- Misc Forums, Blogs & Tutorials
Considerations for Web Apps
If you have...
- Extremely Large Data Sets
- Need Complex Online Editing Capabilities
- Future Growth Potential - Need to Scale
Look into a GIS Server or Hosted Solution (Carto/Mapbox)
IS ALL THIS REALLY NECESSARY?
Caution
Short List of Deprecated Web Services
2014-Present
Web Hosting in Google Drive
Google Maps Engine
Google's Android App My Tracks
Copy Cloud Storage
Dropbox Public Folder Hosting
OVRDC Client-Side Use Case
FOSS JavaScript APIs: Leaflet & TurfJS
- Run on any Web Server
- Free & Open Source
- Strong Online Community
- HTML5: Windows/Android/iOS
&
Cloud-Based Storage/APIs
(Google, Dropbox, Firebase, Others...)
- User Feedback
- Image/Asset Storage
- Freemium Model
Demographic Explorer
Simple, Targeted App - Inspired by the NACO County Explorer
Cloud Based Collection Apps
FRA Transit Data
Using Public APIs: Current Data & Real-Time Apps
Parcel Viewer
A Client-Side Parcel Viewer with Feature Search
Bridge Analysis with TurfJS
Looking Forward
Cloud-Hosted PostGIS
Vector Tile Server
OVRDC Custom Basemaps
Utilize QGIS in New Projects
Thanks!
Malcolm Meyer | Nick Kroncke
Beyond the Desktop Open Source Experiments in Web Mapping Malcolm Meyer | Nick Kroncke Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission Ohio GIS Conference September 30, 2016