Comments about oreilly Web Mapping Illustrated:

First, this is an excellent book and learning tool. Thank you for taking the time to write and share what you have learned.

I will have to say I was taken aback, flummoxed, and every other descriptor when I got to Chapter 8 - 'Visualizing Mapping Data in a Desktop Program'. I looked back at the cover of the book to make sure I had picked up the right book to read while eating. Sure enough, 'Web Mapping Illustrated'.

After setting up Mapserver on my remote Fedora dist Linux server and other associated tools, Postgre SQL, etc, (seriously, thanks for the growth, I would not have learned so much about administering my server), and being satisfied working in the Linux environment, to have been thrown back to previous chapters to set the tools up on a Windows box so I could run aps on the local desktop was disconcerting. Love learning about mapping, and using desktop tools is what peaked my curiosity about WEB MAPPING and serving up dynamic maps. Don't get me wrong, the Windows install of FWTools distribution is painless and takes just a few seconds.

Great book, and using the desktop may be the only way to teach the techniques illustrated in Chapters 8 and 9. Seems though, these two chapters belong in another book.

Comments about oreilly Web Mapping Illustrated:

This book might be better named something like Open Source GIS tools for web mapping, because it covers much more than IMS (Mapserver). There are many extremely useful tips and references that you just can't get without a lot of trial and error. Plus, the author is very helpful and has answered all questions I've sent very quickly and clearly. If you do GIS work and want to try open source tools, including the excellent Mapserver IMS, I can't imagine a better book.

Comments about oreilly Web Mapping Illustrated:

This book is a good introduction to all the areas of web mapping. It describes only Open Source Software therefore making web mapping affordable to the masses.

You will get started with mapserver and understand the concepts behind web mapping. You will receive an introduction in more advanced area like web scripting.

A must read for any mapping afficiandos.

You have no more excuses if your web site does not have an interactive map.

Comments about oreilly Web Mapping Illustrated:

I'm amazed how a book containing so much information can be read so quickly. The author does an amazing job of demistifying the dynamic worlds of GIS and Web Mapping from an Open Source (OS) perspective. The chapters are well organized, allowing the reader to go from a GIS novice to a developer of large-scale MapServer GIS implementations with relative ease. The book is full of beautiful, full-color example maps and software screenshots. A reader of this book will not only have an understanding of the OS software tools used in the GIS community, but also the fundamental geographical concepts on which the GIS tools are based. After banging my head against the wall on a relatively simple mapping project this book was a godsend. There is literally nothing like it on or offline.

Comments about oreilly Web Mapping Illustrated:

This book is a must have if you think of using open source applications for web mapping! But you would also want to read it if you are interested in performing some complex satellite image conversions for instance. The book provides some nice introductions to essential software for web mapping, some of which I never discovered myself before but will definitely help me in being more productive. It will also guide you through the installation process, maybe the highest hurdle for many to get started. You will discover you didn't know so much about the power of the open source software used in the book!