ToT FOSSGIS 07

Preliminary Schedule for the course "Training of Trainers - Free and Open Source Software for Geographic Information Systems"

Introduction

The Training of Trainers for Free and Open Source Geographic Information Systems (ToT FOSSGIS) is intended to convey to a mixed group of web developers and GIS professionals all information required to collaborate on a web based spatial information system in support of emergency management in disaster areas. This training program is planned for October 22-26 2007.

The training is organized by InWEnt - International Capacity Building (Germany) the UNDP-International Open Source Network ASEAN+3 Sub-Regional Node, the University of the Philippines Manila-National Telehealth Center and conducted by the WhereGroup.

Setting the scene

The first day will focus on setting the scene, let the attendees introduce themselves and formulate the common base to work from and define the goals.

Introduction of the participants

• Where do you come from
• What is your technical background (software user, site operator or

developer)

• What do you expect from this course

Introduction to FOSS development and licensing models

• What is Open Source?
• how does it differentiate from closed source or proprietary software?
• What is Free Software licensing?

Introduction to GIS

• Desktop GIS software
  • Installation of QuantumGIS, gvSIG
• Raster data
• Vector data
• Point, Line, Curve
• Operations on GIS data (buffer, intersect, touches, inside, outside)

Introduction to WebGIS

• WebGIS, viewing GIS data in the web
• Client-server architecture
• Network limitations
• Spatial Data Infrastructures
• Browsing the spatial web

Examples, Links and Geodata

• Public Geospatial Data Committee
• http://www.unosat.org/asp/prod_free.asp?id=96

RSS Notification:

• http://www.unosat.org/rss/freemaps.asp?n=1

Standards, Communities and the Web

WebGIS is a lot about interoperability. This involves adoption and adherence to standards wherever they make sense and collaboration and communication wherever they fail or are in need of further development. This day looks into both; the standards organisation OGC and the Open Source Community OSGeo and shows web based examples where this cooperation is working well.

Standards in the GIS world, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)

• Introduction to the OGC and devlopment of standards
• Basic operation of an OGC web service (OGC OWS)
• OGC WMS Web Map Service
  • Base URL
  • GetCapabilities
  • GetMap
  • GetFeatueInfo
• GML Geographic Markup Language
• OGC WFS Web Feature Service
  • Base URL
  • GetCapabilities
  • DescribeFeature
  • GetFeatue

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo)

• Introduction to the Community of Communities
• Software overview (web mapping, geospatial libraries, desktop GIS, catalogs)
• Communication, Mailing Lists, IRC, Wiki (this)
• Governance
• Membership
• Local Chapters
• Education and Curriculum
• Access to Public Geodata

Web Mapping

• Introduction to OpenLayers
  • Roll your own OpenLayers
• Introduction to Mapbender
  • Installation
  • Adding new services
  • Creating new interfaces
  • Managing users
  • Implementing new functionality

Storing Spatial Data and Serving Maps

The first part of the day will introduce some basic file based spatial data formats and then focus on spatial data management using the standard database PostgreSQL and spatial extension PostGIS. The second part of the day will be dedicated to introducing MapServer as an OGC WMS rendering engine accessing the file based data and geometries stored in PostgreSQL PostGIS.

Data management

• File formats
  • Shape
  • TIFF
• Spatially extended database
  • Introduction to PostgreSQL
  • Installation
  • Clients (shell, local installation, web installation)
  • Introduction to PostGIS
  • Importing spatial data
  • Querying data
  • Execute GIS operations

Data Visualization

• Web Map Server
  • Introduction to MapServer
  • Installation
  • Web Server configuration
• Recap: OGC WMS Web Map Service
  • Creating a MAP file
  • Using Shape files
  • Using TIFF Raster data
  • Using raster catalogs
  • Connecting to PostgreSQL/PostGIS

Querying and Operating on Spatial Data - Orchestrating Services

This day will focus on how to make the maps accessible, searchable and queryable using the OGC Web Feature Service standard.

Query for Data

• Web Map Server II
  • Cascade WMS
  • Making maps look good
  • Performance tuning
• Recap: OGC WFS Web Feature Service
  • MapServer as WFS
• Using WFS
  • To search for places
  • To highlight objects
  • To select other objects

Operate on Data

• GeoServer
  • Installation
  • Servlet container configuration
  • Administrating GeoServer
  • Connecting to PostgreSQL/PostGIS
  • Configuring the OGC WFS-T (Transactional Web Feature Service)
• Orchestrating GeoServer and MapServer with Mapbender

User Management, Security and Other Needful Things

This day will focus on how to manage all the new toys created in the days before.

User Management

• Operating System level access
• Database level access
• OWS level access
• User, Groups and Management with the Mapbender Framework

Securing services

• Using encrypted protocols
• Use security facades
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Restricting access
• Protocols, log Levels and Privacy

Bringing it all back together

• Load WMS from MapServer with PostGIS data
• Load WFS from GeoServer with PostGIS data
• Create Application interface with Mapbender
• Link WFS to WMS in Mapbender
• Secure the infrastructure

Ideally there will be some buffer time on the last day to deepen the topics that were of most interest or need further explanations.

• Further training
• Open questions
• Wrap up