[Chameleon] ka-Map: new open source project

[Etienne Dube]

It looks just like Google Maps! I wished there was something like this 
while evaluating MapServer for a new project, now there is. Good work!

Etienne


Paul Spencer wrote:

> ka-Map: new open source project
> ===============================
>
> http://ka-Map.maptools.org/
>
> DM Solutions Group is pleased to annouce the release of a new MapTools 
> open source project aimed at the growing interest in highly 
> interactive, javascript mapping applications based on MapServer.  Here 
> are some details ...
>
> ka-Map provides many of the features that one should expect in a 
> state-of-the-art web-mapping application.
>
> Features include:
>
> * tile-based continuous panning
>
> * no page reloading
>
> * keymap, legend and scalebar
>
> * zoom in/zoom out
>
> * keyboard navigation
>
> * sliding effects for panning on double click (ok, that one's for fun!)
>
> We have also implemented some advanced features that are more in tune 
> with the MapServer community's needs:
>
> * configuration can include multiple map files with different extents, 
> image formats, and scales for each map file.  Client side interface 
> can include the ability to change between map files
>
> * ability to have layer visibility controls by drawing each GROUP as a 
> separate HTML layer on the client side
>
> * ability to use HTML legend template to build more advanced layer 
> controls
>
> * flexible tile caching system
>
> * separation of the javascript logic from the HTML page to provide an 
> API with which to build your applications
>
> ka-Map is built on AJAX principles and uses the XmlHttpRequest object 
> to communicate with the server, providing a much more responsive user 
> interface.  The server side is implemented using PHP/MapScript (what 
> else!) but could easily be replaced with anything that would spit out 
> the equivalent javascript in response to the various requests.
>
> ka-Map uses cached tiles generated on demand by drawing much larger 
> map images and slicing them up.  The caching mechanism is currently 
> quite simplistic and could not handle large data projects, but it is 
> definitely sufficient for getting started.  There are issues with this 
> kind of tile generation, but it is almost essential for performance 
> given the current state of the art.
>
> ka-Map is aiming to be an API for developing mapping applications.  As 
> such, we are hoping it will be picked up by, and integrated into, some 
> of the other open source projects such as MapBender, ZMapServer, 
> GeoServer, and (of course) Chameleon.
>
> The home of ka-Map is:
>
> http://ka-Map.maptools.org
>
> Downloads and CVS are not quite ready, but you can try out the 
> interface by visiting our first public site based on this technology 
> (basic features only in this one):
>
> http://maps.dmsolutions.ca/
>
> Subscribe to the user list to find out when downloads and CVS access 
> are available, and also to participate in the ongoing development and 
> testing of this new technology.
>
> http://lists.maptools.org/mailman/listinfo/ka-map-users
>
> We are hoping this project will engage the MapServer community's 
> interest and gain momentum from user contributions.  Please join up 
> and start contributing if you are interested in this technology!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Paul