.. Author: gislite .. Title: Publish a vector layer Publish a vector layer ====================== This section begins with using vector data in MapServer. Vector data is similar to vector data in CAD software or illustrator. In addition to the difference of geospatial location, another important aspect is that vector data in GIS has no style information. CAD or illustrator mainly focuses on drawing, and the vector data used need to be distinguished and beautified by width, color and style. In GIS, these works are completed by the map drawing stage. The same data can be drawn in different thematic maps and different application scenarios. Define vector layers in Mapfile ------------------------------- Mapserver can create an image and save it to a local directory, or deliver it directly to a web browser on demand (as in this example). Note the above map, it is generated by the WebGIS server in the server-side background, and then transmitted to the client. The code behind in the page is: .. image:: http://webgis.cn/cgi-bin/mapserv?map=/owg/mfa1.map&layer=world-country&mode=map Instead of browsing it on the HTML page, you can just enter this URL: http://webgis.cn/cgi-bin/mapserv?map=/owg/mfa1.map&layer=world-country&mode=map (Remember to replace the hostname or IP address; for example, use the local hostname ``localhost``, or use the IP address directly, such as ``"127.0.0.1"``) .. literalinclude:: ./mfa1.map :lineno-start: 1 Take a look at this Mapfile below. Lines ``07`` to ``19`` define the first layer of the map. The layer starts with ``LAYER`` and ends with ``END``. Based on the spatial data of ``wcountry.shp1``, the polygon layer renders the global administrative division data. The ``NAME`` keyword specifies the name of the layer. The name itself is optional, but if you use one, it must be no more than 20 characters. The layer name is used in the HTML template layer as a ``CGI`` reference. A name must be specified if you want the interactive layer to be able to be toggled on and off from the HTML form. The ``STATUS`` keyword determines whether the layer is rendered, and whether its state can be changed. ``STATUS`` the default layer is always rendered and can change state at the same time. Lines ``12`` to ``18`` specify the only class object parameter at this level. A class object is started with the keyword ``class`` and terminated by the keyword ``END`` (line ``18``). While this application will use classes more extensively than previous maps, with this layer, you only need to specify a single default class that will include every feature in the shapefile. The name of the class will appear on the legend associated with the map. If a class has no name, it will still be rendered, but it will not appear in the legend. The style object keyword ``COLOR`` specifies the color to paint, and ``OUTLINECOLOR`` specifies the color to paint the border. Since this layer is a polygon, it will be filled with the specified color. Note that if the layer is a line layer, the ``COLOR`` value will specify the color of the line. URL parameter description ------------------------- The URL can be broken down into three parts: The first part, ``http://webgis.cn/cgi-bin/mapserv?``, calls MapServer’s CGI program. On a different system, it might be ``mapserv`` or ``mapserv.exe`` , or something else. If you directly call to open the above URL, you will get this message: :: No query information to decode. QUERY_STRING is set, but empty. To get the correct information, you need to add additional parameters. To get the correct information, additional parameters need to be added. The next three parts are the query string. The query string contains CGI parameters (variables and their values), with each parameter separated by a symbol (``&``). Now looking at the query string, the first parameter ``map`` has a value: ``/owg/mfa1.map`` The next parameter, ``layer=states``, tells mapserv to use the ``states`` layer. We named the layer object ``states`` in the Mapfile. Next parameter ``layer=states`` Tell mapserv to use the ``states`` Layer. We name it layer objects in Mapfile ``states`` . The last parameter, ``mode=map`` , tells mapserv what to do to output MapFile in mode. In this case, it tells ``mapserv`` to dump the image directly to the web browser (client), without first creating a temporary image on the server. The values for ``TYPE`` can be: ``'chart', 'circle', 'line', 'point', 'polygon', 'raster', 'query', 'annotation'``. Map extent ---------- In the Mapfile, the correct range needs to be set in order to display the data. For example, for China-wide data, the set range is: ``EXTENT 73 8 136 53``, the effect is as follows: The complete Mapfile is: .. literalinclude:: ./mfs1.map :lineno-start: 1 Different modes viewed by MapServer ----------------------------------- Note the ``mode=map`` above, which is the viewing mode supported by MapServer. MapServer’s ``mode`` CGI variable can take values other than ``map``. In addition to the ``map`` mode, there is also the ``browse`` mode. For example, if you use ``map=browse``, MapServer will dump the image to a temporary directory on the server. Using browse mode requires specifying the ``template`` parameter. Generally, a template file needs to be defined first. Without a template file, browse mode cannot work properly, which will be explained later. In MapServer 6.x, the ``template`` parameter allows the use of the OpenLayers keyword, which can be used to view MapServer results. The following directly uses the default configuration of OpenLayers to view the map. Note that the OpenLayers library of the MapServer website needs to be called, so it will be slower for the first time. http://webgis.cn/cgi-bin/mapserv?map=/owg/mfa1.map&layer=states&mode=browse&template=OpenLayers For OpenLayers mode, see: https://mapserver.org/cgi/openlayers.html You can try modifying the value of the keyword in MapFile and see the result. These experiments will help you understand these keywords.