[ka-Map-users] Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] ka-Map: new open source project

[Paul Spencer]

David,

that is correct.  The newer version (i.e. not the app referenced in this 
notice) does this based on groups.  Each group is loaded into a separate 
set of images and is more-or-less instantly available by toggling the 
image visibility (actually the visibility of the containing div element) 
and are displayed using transparency etc to stack them.

Cheers

Paul

David Bitner wrote:
> Very nice work,
> 
> Do I understand correctly that ka-map will have the ability to have
> map layers draw as transparent images stacked in the interface so you
> could have instant on/off of layers?  This combined with the
> horizontal tiling would be great for giving near instant feedback for
> just about anything that the use does.  I  look forward to seeing the
> API and seeing further examples of things that you do with this.
> 
> David
> 
> On 5/17/05, Paul Spencer <pspencer at dmsolutions.ca> 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
>>--
>>+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
>>|Paul Spencer                           pspencer at dmsolutions.ca   |
>>+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
>>|Applications & Software Development                              |
>>|DM Solutions Group Inc                 http://www.dmsolutions.ca/|
>>+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
>>
> 
> 
> 

-- 
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|Paul Spencer                           pspencer at dmsolutions.ca   |
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|Applications & Software Development                              |
|DM Solutions Group Inc                 http://www.dmsolutions.ca/|
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