Getting Your Maps on the WebA Philosophical Approach

Gateway Group Seminar- INSPIRE and Web MappingSandford on Thames, July 2008

Jo CookSenior Applications Support and Development OfficerOxford Archaeological Unit Ltd

joanne.cook@thehumanjourney.net

Introduction

How INSPIRE is really all about open source software, and getting your data on the web

INSPIRE says...

“reduce duplicated data collection and ... assist and promote the harmonisation, broad

dissemination and use of data”

“increase efficiency”

“stimulate innovation”

“spatial information may be used to produce maps, which are a good way of

communicating”

Commission of the European Communities, 2004, Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the council establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE)

Problems everyone can relate to

“The main problems relate to data gaps, missing information, incompatible spatial datasets and services due eg to varying

standards, and barriers to the sharing and reuse of spatial data”

The problems highlighted in INSPIRE can be found in every organisation...

Commission of the European Communities, 2004, Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the council establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE)

Problems everyone can relate to

“The loss of time and resources in searching for existing spatial data or in discovering if

they may be used for a particular purpose is a key obstacle in the full exploitation of the data

available”

... so increasing efficiency is a global goal

Commission of the European Communities, 2004, Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the council establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE)

Spatial Data Infrastructures for Everyone

“The infrastructures for spatial information... should be designed to ensure that spatial data are stored, made available and maintained at the most appropriate level; that it is possible

to combine spatial data from different sources... in a consistent way and to share

them between several users and applications”

These aims are just as applicable to local government, and in fact anyone producing and working with geospatial data in a multi-user environment.

Commission of the European Communities, 2004, Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the council establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE)

It doesn't have to look like this!

Global Spatial Data Infrastructure, 2004, The SDI Cookbook

Nice and Simple SDI

GeoNetwork 2006

Zawinski's Law and Modularity

“Every programme expands until it can read mail”

Programmes can become over-complicated and bloated. Instead, choose a framework of smaller, interoperable tools or modules.

“ArcGIS 9.3 (available 3rd Quarter 2008) will fully support Windows Vista”

(released January 2007)

Something doesn't work with your operating system? Elements can be replaced as necessary without jeopardising the rest of the stack.

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Zawinski2) http://www.esri.com/news/releases/08_1qtr/arcgis93_vista.html (emphasis mine)

Why Open Source?Supplier independence

Transparency, controllability and manageability

Interoperability

Sustainability

Also:

Reliability

Security

Performance

1) Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands), 2007, The Netherlands in Open Connection: An action plan for the use of Open Standards and Open Source Software in the public and semi-public sector2) http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html

Why “Web”?Network services to connect front and back ends, giving you control over your primary data

Flexible interfaces depending on user needs

Data discovery services (catalogues)

http://www.geoportal.org/web/guest/geo_home

And Because...

1) JISC Common Repository Group2) Show Us a Better Way Campaign

Where to go for information (and shameless plug)

http://www.osgeo.org

http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/United_Kingdom