OpenLayers Interactive Map

Development of a new SECOORA interactive map is ongoing towards the May member meeting. This page will capture efforts toward that end and beyond. OpenLayers, a JavaScript Mapping Library, seems our best bet for a light and fast interactive framework. It can use our existing map engine infrastructure (MapServer + DB or shapefiles), leverage many of our existing (improved!) OGC feeds as data sources, and runs inside Plone without i-frame ugliness.

  • Roadmap for the May 2008 SECOORA meeting
  • Team Wiki for the May 2008 SECOORA meeting
  • Source code for OpenLayers development
  • Tickets for OpenLayers development before the May 2008 SECOORA meeting


OpenLayers Development Map

OpenLayers Development Map

  • Improved OGC WMS services:
    • Started with cached image service (all_secoora.map) on Maury
      • performance issues - lots of layers + multiple CGI wrappers
    • Retool each layer into its own mapfile (OGC Services trac component)
      • no need for a single mapfile (cachebot needed a single WMS URL to call and performance was not an issue)
      • Push time handling into mapfile instead of wrapper
        • utilizes extra cycles on DB machine and not on MapServer (which maxes out first under heavy load)
  • OL Code lives in Zope /portal_skins/OpenLayers/
    • Requires changes to portal_css (CSS Registry) and portal_javascripts (JavaScripts Registry) to ensure code loads for this page only.
    • OL_secoora.js
    • Plone content pane HTML (from http://secoora.org/Members/jcleary/openlayers/openlayers) 
      <script type="text/javascript">registerPloneFunction(init_OLSECOORA);</script>
<table><tbody>
<tr>
    <td colspan="2">
    </td>
</tr>
<tr>
   <td>
      <div id="map"></div>
   </td>
   <td valign="top">
      <div id="SSTList">Click on any SST observation to get data</div><br />
      <div id="WINDList">Click on any Wind observation to get data</div><br />
      <div id="WLList">Click on any Water Level observation to get data</div></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
    • OLMap.css (basic)


OpenLayers Static Map

OpenLayers Static Map


OpenLayers Library

  • OpenLayers 2.5 (API reference) is installed on SECOORA.org
    • Not all components - just a lightweight installation
  • Code lives in Zope /portal_skins/OpenLayers/
    • OLStyle.css
    • OpenLayers.js
    • /img/*.png (icons)
    • Requires changes to portal_css (CSS Registry) and portal_javascripts (JavaScripts Registry) to ensure code loads for OL pages only.

Ticket: build a compressed version of the JS library