GeowebInfo

Pre-computing in the Web Mapping world

Sriharsha Vankadara — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:49:29 +0000

Speed has and will always be a critical factor in developing fast and responsive web applications. The cost of computing power has seen a rapid decrease over the years allowing for fast and powerful pc’s capable of handling much of the server side processing, thus allowing most web apps to load faster and respond quicker to client requests. But then came big data. In the web mapping world where huge amounts of data needs to be served to the client, maintaining a high level of performance and usability can only be possible through pre-computing on the server.

A well known example of pre-computing is Map Caching in which tiles are pre-generated and cached on the server allowing for faster map services.

Over at the ArcGIS Server blog is a nice post highlighting the importance of pre-computing in a GIS server environment and techniques such as

Eliminating on the fly projection
Pre-calculating geoprocessing results
Building spatial and attribute indexes
Converting labels and annotations

that can be employed in publishing faster GIS web services. These practices are not just limited to the ArcGIS product domain but can also be applied in any web mapping environment.

Boosting performance through pre-computing

Official Wikipedia App for Android is here

Sriharsha Vankadara — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:15:34 +0000

Wikipedia followed its anti-SOPA blackout last week with the launch of its native app for Android. Finally !!! Although, there are quite a few apps on the Android Market trying to provide a similar wiki experience, the need for an native app has always been there. The app comes with some nice features that include:

Save page for reading later

Search articles from nearby based on user’s location

In-app page translation

Share a page using Android’s built-in share functionality

It is a must have app for every smartphone user and I hope we get to see some interesting features with future updates that make it worthy competitor to its iOS counterpart.

Go get it here - http://bit.ly/Attxil

QGIS How To’s

Sriharsha Vankadara — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:33:17 +0000

Underdark at Free and Open Source GIS Ramblings reports of a great new addition to the QGIS Wiki – a set of step by step tutorials complete with graphics and categorized into tasks dealing with vectors, rasters, map projections, spatial analyses, format conversion and map making. This is a great reference for anyone just beginning to get their feet wet as well as for existing users trying to get a glimpse of the latest features.

What is LiDAR?

Sriharsha Vankadara — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:48:04 +0000

LiDAR, acronym for Light Detection and Ranging is a remote sensing technique to capture precise elevation including any vegetation or buildings on the earth’s surface. Over from the Lidar News blog is a short video from the Department of Geosciences at Idaho State University, introducing the principle of LiDAR and its application in elevation modeling of Snake River, Swan Valley in Idaho.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t6TUYjfPYo

Install Quantum GIS 1.4.0 on Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

Sriharsha Vankadara — Sun, 02 May 2010 01:44:28 +0000

With all the rave reviews that Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx has been getting over the past couple of months, I couldn’t help myself upgrading and checking out the exciting new features and the enhanced interface, which I think was a much needed overhaul for the best desktop Linux OS.

A new version meant fresh installation of all the open source GIS goodies starting with QGIS. The latest version 1.4.0-Enceladus for Lucid is already available in the Launchpad UbuntuGIS repository and with a new command (add-apt-repository) for updating /etc/apt/sources.list with locations of repositories, the installation is simple and straightforward.

Bring up the terminal and issue the following commands.

Add the repository using:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntugis/ubuntugis-unstable

Make apt aware of the new repository:

sudo apt-get update

Install QGIS

sudo apt-get install qgis

Once the installation is done, open QGIS from Applications -> Science -> Quantum GIS

Plenary Session Demos for 2010 ESRI BPC and Developer Summit

Sriharsha Vankadara — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:56:26 +0000

This week marked the end of the 2010 ESRI Worldwide Business Partner Conference (BPC) and the 2010 ESRI Developer Summit at Palm Springs, California which was host to the largest gathering of GIS developers.

The BPC set the tone for the Developer Summit by showcasing features of the upcoming release of the ArcGIS product suite – ArcGIS 10. For those of us who couldn’t get to attend and see the demos first hand, the Plenary Session videos have been made available for viewing which cover the following topics:

ArcGIS.com
Desktop Usability
Server and Web Clients
Mobile Platforms
Editing Improvements
Imagery Platform
Analysis
Business Analyst Online
ArcLogistics
ArcGIS Server on Amazon

What started off as an overview of ArcGIS 10 during the BPC was picked up at the Developer Summit with demonstrations delving more into the new features and enhancements that ArcGIS 10 is going to support. ESRI has been quick to upload the Plenary demos which cover the following topics:

Opening by Jack Dangermond, President of ESRI and Jim McKinney, ArcGIS Program Manager

ArcGIS 2010 and Beyond
ArcGIS Online and Explorer
ArcGIS Server, Part One
ArcGIS Server, Part Two
Developer Community
Mobile GIS
ArcGIS Desktop, Part One
ArcGIS Desktop, Part Two
ArcGIS Desktop, Part Three

Jithen Singh on his blog http://geo.geek.nz has a detailed write-up summarizing the Plenary Session events of the Developer Summit.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-21

Sriharsha Vankadara — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:30:00 +0000

The five most popular corporate open-source programs http://bit.ly/9H7atw #
Great visualizations of global data http://show.mappingworlds.com/world/ #
The Booth Map: Redesigning WMATA's #map http://bit.ly/9m8KaR #
RT @bingmaps: Video of Blaise Aguera y Arcas from #Microsoft demoing augmented-reality maps http://bit.ly/c4a55C #bingmaps #
Prof. Strobl: int'l perspective on how thinking spatially is for everyone, not only Geo-nerds! http://bit.ly/a5pPUc (via @GISeducation) #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-14

Sriharsha Vankadara — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Google making amends RT @google: We've heard the feedback — Now more sharing controls in Buzz! http://bit.ly/cpJCbm #
#Mashups go mainstream as agencies mix data with social media http://bit.ly/aFDHlb #
#SpatiaLite 2.3.1 support #OSM format and Routing http://bit.ly/cePSds http://bit.ly/9AKC3J via @pascal_n #
Washington's snow response #GIS mapping system gets a workout #DC http://bit.ly/aQYq2U #
RT @rww 4 Google Buzz Hacks for Users, Developers, and Haters http://tinyurl.com/y98g4lu #
Geolocation, And Finding A Better App http://bit.ly/d3TlZ6 #
RT @huffingtonpost Ramon Nuez: Using Google Earth to Take a Walk on Mars http://tinyurl.com/ydv4ehp #
Impressive 3D reconstruction of the Hudson river landing http://bit.ly/dw8Vu8 #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-07

Sriharsha Vankadara — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Smart Geocoding Example http://bit.ly/dvCvMj click on gmap and get more info in return compares to google /via @mapperz #
#GIS and Augmented Reality in 2015 http://tinyurl.com/yhmj6nh #
Reading interview with @adenas – first in the Profiles from the #Geospatial Community series http://bit.ly/cb7A0H #
NSA to help Google tackle cyberattacks http://bit.ly/cDEsyi #
Free your #KML Publish on the Web! Don’t use KMZ! http://bit.ly/9EhznV #
Good read.. Hiring Ren and Stimpy http://bit.ly/4LrQHr #
Search photos by camera type http://bit.ly/aN5iil #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-31

Sriharsha Vankadara — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:30:00 +0000

There is nothing manly about the #iPad RT @Nojopar: Apparently Hitler isn't fond of the iPad… http://bit.ly/99Oeh9 #