On Aug 1, 2010, at 8:43 AM, ext Cameron Shorter wrote:
> Chris,
> Thanks for your Openlayers Overview text.
>
> I've reviewed and added suggested changes as below. (Feel free to revert if
> you disagree with my suggestions). In particular, I've tried to add a bit of
> a "user benefits" (why is pure JS good?).
> I've also included a Core Features section. I suspect you will want to refine
> this list of functionality.
Cameron,
Personally, I much preferred the previous text.
1. OpenLayers is, to some extent, designed for people beyond just web
devleopers
to use; though we don't always achieve that goal, the goal really is to let
anyone, right down to someone who just knows how to copy paste into a blog,
create an OpenLayers maps.
2. The change from "Google Maps API" to "Google Maps" is one that I
deliberately
chose not to make: the key distinction is that the Google Maps API is
a Javascript API, not a web UI at maps.google.com.
3. OpenLayers is not renowned (and definitely not renound ;)) for its
comprehensive testing and release cycles, as far as I know; at least, I
don't
consider it such. We most certainly do not ensure stability across
hundreds of browser versions; heck, we hardly ensure stability across a half
dozen.
I also do not like the 'core features' sections in general; the core feature
of OpenLayers is "making a map", possibly extending to "Loads map layers
from many sources" -- the rest of the features are not at all core features.
It seems that you have a direction in mind here, so I'm willing to let you,
as a representative of the OpenLayers PSC, make the final call on this,
but I think the new document is missing a lot of the sense that I tried
to convey in my original, and it is not the document that I would create
myself.
-- Chris
> Source text is at:
> https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/livedvd/gisvm/trunk/doc/overview
>
> Browser GIS Client¶
>
> OpenLayers makes it easy for web developers to embed dynamic maps, from a
> multitude of sources, in any web page. OpenLayers provides an extensive list
> of mapping tools and widgets, similar to Google Maps. All functionally runs
> inside the web browser, which makes OpenLayers easy to install, without any
> server side dependencies.
>
> OpenLayers is renound for its comprehensive testing and release cycles,
> ensuring stability across the hundreds of different browser versions.
>
> Core Features¶
>
> • Loads map layers from many sources:
> • Google, Bing, Yahoo
> • WMST, WFS, WFS-T WMS, GeoRSS, GML
> • ArcGIS, Images, MapGuide, MapServer, TileCache, VirtualEarth,
> WorldWind,
> • Tools
> • Pan, Zoom, Draw, Edit, Save, ...
> • Popups
> • Markers
> • Reprojections
>
> Original Text:
> OpenLayers¶
>
> Web map engine¶
>
> OpenLayers makes it easy to put a dynamic map in any web page. It can display
> map tiles and markers loaded from any source. OpenLayers is a pure JavaScript
> library for displaying map data in most modern web browsers, with no
> server-side dependencies. OpenLayers implements a JavaScript API for building
> rich web-based geographic applications, similar to the Google Maps API.
>
>
> Furthermore, OpenLayers implements industry-standard methods for geographic
> data access, such as the OpenGIS Consortium’s Web Mapping Service (WMS) and
> Web Feature Service (WFS) protocols. Under the hood, OpenLayers is written in
> object-oriented JavaScript.
>
> As a framework, OpenLayers is intended to separate map tools from map data so
> that all the tools can operate on all the data sources. This separation
> breaks the proprietary silos that earlier GIS revolutions have taught
> civilization to avoid. The mapping revolution on the public Web should
> benefit from the experience of history.
>
> --
> Cameron Shorter
> Geospatial Director
> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
>
> Think Globally, Fix Locally
> Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
>
> http://www.lisasoft.com
> <ATT00001..txt>
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