[ka-Map-users] Architectural questions.

[Tim Schaub]

Just to add in a bit more confusion, it's not that hard to get a kaMap 
application to use OpenLayers with a simple monkey patch.

For example, see http://dev.kamap.swissgeo.ch/kaMonkey.js

This was just a quick proof of concept.  A way to get a kaMap 
application to use OpenLayers instead of it's own event handling and 
navigation code.  I know there's more, but there's not really *that* 
much that needs to be done to put OpenLayers between kaMap.js and tile.php.

And here's a kaMap iframe demo using OpenLayers (with a continuous zoom 
patch): http://dev.kamap.swissgeo.ch/zoom

Fun, huh?

Apologies to anybody who may be offended by my patch naming.
Tim

Paul Spencer wrote:
> 
> On 7-Nov-07, at 6:37 AM, The Bun wrote:
>>
>>> TileCache is a seperate software package which can be used, not
>>> explicitly tied to OpenLayers. (Users have used it with WorldWind and
>>> other similar code in the past.)
>>
>>> ka-Map is clientside code which is primarily designed to talk to its
>>> server side API and configuration, in tile.php / config.php .
>>>
>>> OpenLayers can talk to the tile.php part of ka-Map via its KaMap layer.
>>
>> OK I assume I need to read more about tilecache and OpenLayers, time
>> allowing.
>> I understood ( but please tell me if I am wrong ) that kaMap has a server
>> side part
>> and this is tile.php/config.php while OL hasn't a server part and then 
>> need
>> rely on
>> something which may be tilecache or kaMap ( the server side ) , right?
> 
> correct about kaMap.  OL can also use mapserver directly (CGI), WMS, and 
> a wide variety of other sources.
> 
>>
>>>> On the other side I see that from OL you can actually working with
>>>> kaMap layers ( although I couldn't test it), I really don't understand
>>>> what
>>>> is the utility for doing that.
>>
>>> So that if you already have a working ka-Map cache, you can use that
>>> instead of creating a new one.
>>
>> Are we talking about using the server side of kaMap, are we?
> 
> yes, the OL KaMap.js layer type can talk to a kaMap tile.php to get tiles.
> 
>> <snip>
> 
>> Is the OpenLayers map drawing better of the one already implemented in
>> kaMap?
>> If it is not good enough like OL, at this stage, is it not better to 
>> try to
>> improve kaMap instead of adding an extra layer?
>>
>> This make me quite confused. I appreciate the "future" architecture, with
>> kaMap that integrate OL but I am also concerned about it "now". It seems
>> that currently your second scenario:
>>
>> TileCache <-- OpenLayers
>>
>> is better than the first but the first scenario:
>>
>> Tile.php <-- kaMap
>>
>> is better for the future scenario:
>>
>> Tile.php <-- OpenLayers <-- kaMap
>>
>> as it seems to me that the second scenario doesn't give you an easy 
>> U-turn
>> chance while the first scenario will evolve naturally but it is still a
>> Future Scenario, if you know what I mean.
> 
> OpenLayers is arguably better depending on what you think better is.  
> kaMap certainly isn't as configurable, and you cannot include other data 
> sources easily.  On the other hand, it is probably a little easier to 
> get started with and perhaps a bit lighter in the browser.
> 
> If you are looking for a Google-like replacement, OL has much more to 
> offer.  If you are looking for a really basic tiled map engine that you 
> can build on (and are willing to read the code to learn) then kaMap 
> might do the trick.
> 
>>
>>> This is the route that MapBuilder has taken, using OWS-Context for
>>> configuration, creating a UI on top of OpenLayers using XML as a
>>> description language.
>>
>> This makes my choice still more complicated, then we have another 
>> scenario?
>>
>> Server <-- OpenLayers <-- MapBuilder
> 
> It gets worse.  There is also MapFish and Fusion which are application 
> frameworks being built around OpenLayers.
> 
> Server <-- OpenLayers <-- MapFish
> 
> Server <-- OpenLayers <-- Fusion
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Paul
> 
> +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> |Paul Spencer                          pspencer at dmsolutions.ca    |
> +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> |Chief Technology Officer                                         |
> |DM Solutions Group Inc                http://www.dmsolutions.ca/ |
> +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> ka-Map-users mailing list
> ka-Map-users at lists.maptools.org
> http://lists.maptools.org/mailman/listinfo/ka-map-users
> 
> !DSPAM:4033,4731a779131401015089218!
>