Computing, GIS and Archaeology in the UK

Well, at last it’s OK for me to tell people that Oxford Archaeology now has a WFS server that is accessible from the outside world. The address is:

http://mapdata.thehumanjourney.net/cgi-bin/mapservwfs.cgi

It’s a standard MapServer setup, and at the moment contains static data about the sites we have worked on over the last thirty years. This is still a work in progress and there are a whole bunch of things I would like to improve (but at least it’s up and out there):

1: As I said, it’s static data. The aim is to get our main databases into PostgreSQL (I’ve talked about this before, and it’s not an easy process to convert messy, historic, access databases into PostgreSQL). In some circles there is a question as to whether we should actually use live data. There are sometimes issues with people looting archaeological excavations, and we don’t want to make that any easier…
2: You may have noticed that I said databaseS (plural rather than singular). Oxford Archaeology only took over the Lancaster Office a few years ago and we are still working towards merging our core systems (along with upgrading them all to sensible, robust OpenSource platforms where possible). The problem with having two databases is that in many cases the fields are not directly compatible, so to get the data out in the shortest possible time I simply included the elements that were common to both, and I will work towards getting more information out.

3: At the moment, there is no fancy front-end to this. I have two candidates in mind for frontends, and I’ve talked about them both a fair bit. They will serve two different purposes, in other words for internal and external use. Externally I’m working towards using OpenLayers, although this might mean that I have to convert or re-project all of our data that is in British National Grid format into WGS84 so I can use something like Google Maps as a backend. Not a problem, I just haven’t done it yet. OpenLayers will give me a fairly basic, but nice looking interface that works in a way that people are familiar with from Google Maps and other sites. It is easy to install and can be built into any web page, so it can be embedded in our corporate site and not look out of place. Internally I want to use MapGuide OpenSource, as it has advanced functionality and a fairly slick style built in (I could use Mapserver and build a front-end myself but this seems like the best approach). However, as my last few posts have explained, I am having quite a lot of trouble compiling this on our platform of choice, so we’ll see.

4: There is only one layer so far. We’ll work on this, but often have licensing issues with our data, so we’ll have to check that out first.

Anyhow, enjoy.

Well, my first attempt at getting Mapguide Opensource working on Ubuntu screeched to a massive halt last week with some version conflicts that even the mighty mailing list couldn’t solve. I’m kinda hopeful that if I start from scratch and install only the absoloute basics, then I might avoid the same problem. Unfortunately I can’t get anyone on the list to admit that they’ve successfully managed to install it on Ubuntu, otherwise I could pick their brains mercilessly!

If anyone reading this blog has had success installing Mapguide on Ubuntu, then please let me know in the comments. I promise not to hassle you too much…

On a happier note, Oxford Archaeology now have their first publically available WFS server. I can’t post the address yet until I get permission, but in the first instance it will be serving details about where in the UK we’ve done work. We hope to include more layers soon, but that depends on clearance from other organisations.

The next step will be a nice web interface for the data. I’ve been playing with OpenLayers a lot recently, and that would be the easiest option, but I would like to get Mapguide Opensource up and running because I think the ajax interface for that is about the slickest I’ve seen.

Well, I’m three days in to trying to compile and install the latest version of MapGuide OpenSource on Ubuntu Dapper Drake and it’s quite hard going. Maybe it’s just naivety on my part, but I’m constantly amazed at how many other packages are required, that are not in the documentation, before the various components will install. It’s not the first time I’ve done this either, as I tried it on Suse 9 and Fedora 4 last year and I had the same problem then. I wonder if sometimes the developers forget that relative n00bs like me might have clean systems, without all the extra libraries installed.

Anyhow, once I finally get through it (if it’s even possible…) I’ll post some updated instructions and pointers to try and make the process a little easier in future, both for me and others. At the moment it has failed again, so I’ve had to admit defeat and ask on the mailing list. Hopefully I’ll make some progress tomorrow…

Well, today was day one of the FOSS4G conference in Lausanne, Switzerland. I’m a bit of a conference n00b, having only made it to UK events in the past, and certainly nothing of this size or calibre. So, couple that with the fact that I’ve forgotten most of my school french or german vocab and it’s been a learning experience!

The workshops that I attended today were on MapGuide Open Source, which was what I was concentrating on when I signed up but I think I would rather have attended the workshop on PostGIS instead of the Introduction to MapGuide Open Source this morning. Having already used MGOS for a few months now I’m reasonably familiar with the basic functionality, although as always a proper grounding in the fundamentals is incredibly valuable. The most interesting aspect that I was unaware of is MapAgent, a set of html forms built in to the standard MGOS installation that expose the xml-based resource database and allow you to interrogate it. With MapAgent it’s possible to alter much of the layer symbology and client-level appearance of your map, such as the Web Layout without needing to use MapGuide Studio, which will soon be a fully commercial product, or it’s slightly limited but free alternative Web Studio by DM Solutions.

The afternoon session was far more advanced, covering the development of web-based applications to enhance MGOS, such as an interface for digitising features on screen or serving live kml to Google Earth. This session required a better understanding of php and javascript than I have, unfortunately, so went way over my head. It was really inspiring though, and I do hope to improve my coding in those areas (when I get chance). I’m not sure that either session convinced me that MGOS should be a primary part of our emerging Spatial Data Infrastructure though, as it does blur the lines between service provider (the Server), the Data Store, and the Client Interface. Boy though, that client interface is slick. Hmm, the jury’s out on this one.

This evening there was a meeting about OSGEO, which was mainly a request for people to set up Local Chapters, and a discussion on the exact form that such groups should take. I confess that I started off in the meeting not very interested, but after mulling it over I can see that such a group in the UK could potentially provide a focus for lobbying for public ownership of geospatial data as well as increasing public awareness (and adoption) of Open Source software in the UK. It’s quite telling that there are very few Brits at the conference, and whether that’s symptomatic of a British reluctance to get involved in OS Software is an interesting question.

Finally we hooked up with Tyler Mitchell and had an entertaining evening meal in a pizzeria where all the pizzas were named after celebrities! I can’t say that I tried the Brad Pitt, or even the Tony Blair- I went for a Swiss Politician who’s name I’ve forgotten. No mushrooms you see…

[Posted from my hotel room on my zaurus pda (so no linkalicious goodness, though I'll try and rectify that later, with a proper keyboard]

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