What this book covers
Chapter 1, GIS Fundamentals, introduces you to GIS concepts. It guides you
through spatial data types and maps. You will discover how spatial information is
stored and how to set up a map. You may want to skip this chapter if you already
have a solid background in GIS.
Chapter 2, Getting Started with GeoServer, guides you in setting up your first
GeoServer instance. It shows you, step by step, how to download the most recent
version of the software and its requirements, that is, JAVA and a servlet container.
For each component, a detailed description about how to install it is included.
Chapter 3, Exploring the Administrative Interface, covers GeoServer's web
administration interface. It explains how to log in and access each section. You
will familiarize yourself with data configuration following a common workflow
that starts by adding data to GeoServer and guides you through to publication.
Included in this chapter are screen captures that define the main areas of the
program and menu items—all of which is very helpful when accessing the interface
for the first time.
Chapter 4, Accessing Layers, guides you through data publication. The chapter
covers in detail all output types offered by GeoServer for your data. Raster formats
such as JPEG and PNG are discussed for maps, while vector formats such as
GeoRSS and GEOJSON are explained for vector output. We will also explor
OpenLayers, a JavaScript framework that GeoServer includes in its output format
when you want to serve your data as an application.
Chapter 5, Adding Your Data, demonstrates how you can configure data in
GeoServer. The examples included will show you how to add and publish
shapefiles and PostGIS tables, two of the most common formats, which are also
natively supported by GeoServer. The extensions for Oracle and MySQL are also
discussed.
Chapter 6, Styling Your Layers, explains how to apply styles to your layers. Styles
let you render your data according to attributes, in order to build pretty maps.
SLD's syntax, the standard for data rendering, will be explained in detail, with
examples for different geometry types such as point, polyline, and polygons. The
chapter also illustrates how to build scale-dependent symbology and how to
compose different rendering in a group, to mimic a map in WMS.
Chapter 7, Building a Simple Map for Your Site Using OpenLayers, Google
Maps, and Your Geospatial Data, describes how to build client applications with
the JavaScript framework. JavaScript is a powerful and widespread language and,
unsurprisingly, it is one of the best choices when developing a web application. We
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