UMN mapserver and application to building webGIS

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1067.2021-0031

Abstract

UMN MapServer is one of the open source map servers with long history and the largest number of projects in the world. When having acquired basic knowledge of Cartography and Geographic Information Systems geography students can use open source as MapServer to build webGIS. This paper presents some key features of UMN MapServer and the way to handle it to create webGIS at four levels from lower to higher: (1) display map layers on the web browser, (2) display data and some interact with the map, (3) customize the content from a complete webGIS project, (4) self-design webGIS application. Some suggestions and propositions to enhance the effectiveness of using open source GIS in research and teaching geography are stated.