Spatial Data Sources

Table of contents

1. Basic concepts
2. Creating Spatial Data Sources
3. Configuring Spatial Data Sources
4. Spatial Data Source Permissions
5. Sharing Spatial Data Sources
6. External Attributes
7. Metadata

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A spatial data source in JMap, as its name implies, is any source that can provide spatial data. Spatial data sources are separated into 2 families: vector data sources and raster data sources. Vector data sources provide vector spatial data along with its attributes, and raster data sources provide raster data (images). Configuring data sources is usually the first step to publishing spatial data with JMap.

Some spatial data sources work with a file reader to load spatial data from files in various formats (e.g. mif files, shape files, tiff image files, etc.). Other data sources access the data stored on remote spatial data servers (e.g. PostGIS, Oracle Spatial/Locator, ArcSDE, WMS/WFS servers, etc.).

Once a spatial data source is created, it must be updated before it can be used. Updating a spatial data source means preparing it for use by JMap Server. In concrete terms, this operation involves different tasks, depending on the type of data source. Generally speaking, for data sources that access data stored in files, the contents are read by JMap Server and inserted in the tables of JMap’s System database. A spatial index is then built for fast access, and attribute statistics are calculated. For data sources that access data stored on spatial data servers like Oracle Spatial/Locator or WFS systems, the update process is simpler and only involves calculating attribute statistics. Updating file data sources takes more time than updating server data sources.

Spatial data sources are listed in the Spatial data section in JMap Admin. The table displayed presents basic information about each data source. When you click on the name of a data source, a details section is displayed. This section presents some useful information about the spatial data source and provides some management functions associated with it.

Basic concepts

Editable data sources

Some spatial data sources support data editing (writing) by JMap. This is the case of most DBMS type data sources (PostGIS, Oracle Spatial, etc.). In this manual, each section pertaining to a specific type of data source indicates whether it supports reading only or reading and writing.

File type data sources (SHP, GML, etc.) do not support data editing. However, there is an option allowing you to transform this type of data source into a JMap Spatial data source, which will then allow you to edit spatial and descriptive data in JMap. Once this transformation has been done, the data source will no longer be linked to the original files. All data modifications will have to be performed directly using JMap’s editing tools.

Including multiple files

In most data sources that read files, multiple files can be integrated together to form continuous maps. It is frequent for CAD users to split a territory in rectangular tiles. By reading all tile files together, JMap administrators can recreate continuous maps, provided that the files contain the same data structure (geometry, layers and attribute types).

File browsing

JMap Admin provides a file browser that allows you to navigate through the file system of the server where JMap Server is running in order to select the files to include in the data sources. Local and network storage units can be used, as long as the JMap Server process has access to them.

You can also create user paths. These paths are shortcuts that allow you to save time when browsing the system. They can also be used to write paths that are specific to an operating system, such as Windows UNC (e.g. \myserver\data). To create a user path, you must go to the root of the file system and click on Add user path…

To restrict browsing in the file system, you can define one or more root folders. The JMap administrator will not be able to navigate outside these folders. To do this, you must add a line to the file jmapserver.properties.

admin.filebrowser.roots=c:/data/DataGeo|Data;d:/data2|Data2

In this example, two root folders are created, named Data and Data2.

Uploading files

Accessible through the file browser, the Uploads directory contains files uploaded by all users directly to JMap Server from JMap Admin. If you want to upload a file for use as a spatial data source, click on this folder to access the upload interface.

Enter a name for the file and press Upload. The file will be uploaded to a directory created automatically for your user account. The file is accessible to all user accounts.

Updating spatial data sources

Before a spatial data source can be used to create layers, it must be updated. In JMap, updating a data source generally involves collecting information on the spatial data and its attributes and preparing data for fast and efficient access. This process may be very brief or may take several minutes, depending on the type of data source and amount of data.

In JMap Admin, you can update a data source by clicking on Update in its information section. You can also update several data sources simultaneously by selecting them in the section displaying the list of data sources and clicking on Update.

Scheduling automatic data source updates

You can schedule automatic updates for spatial data sources. This action may be helpful if you use data sources that read data files. If the files are frequently modified, you can schedule automatic updates that will occur on a regular basis (every day at midnight, for instance) for the appropriate data sources. Each data source can have its own schedule.

In order to schedule updates for a given data source, click on Schedule from that data source’s details section or in the list of data sources. Afterwards, simply follow the wizard to define the specific moments when the updates will take place. Scheduling options are very flexible.

Once these tasks have been scheduled, you can view the current schedule for a data source by viewing its information section.

At any time, you can access the list of all planned updates for data sources by clicking on Scheduler in the JMap Server section.

Deleting spatial data sources

You can delete spatial data sources by clicking on Delete from the data source’s information section. You can also delete data sources by selecting them in the section listing the sources and then clicking Delete. When a data source has been deleted, its entire configuration is permanently deleted. The data itself (the file or database) is not affected.

Statuses of spatial data sources

Each spatial data source has a status. The status indicates the condition of the data source, i.e. if it is ready to be used, if an error occurred, etc. The status of a newly created data source is always set to not ready (unless you checked the auto-update flag). This means that the data source cannot be used yet. In order to be used, every data source must be updated at least once.

Data sources can be updated in batches. A maximum of 3 data sources can be updated simultaneously. Other data sources to be updated are queued until they can be updated.

The following table describes the possible statuses of a spatial data source:

System spatial data sources

System spatial data sources are data sources that are automatically created by JMap to support JMap data source and layer sharing. Normally, these resources do not need to be managed and they are not displayed by default in the list of spatial data sources. If you wish to display them, you can select Show system data sources in the display settings of the list of spatial data sources.

Creating Spatial Data Sources

To begin creating a new spatial data source, go to the Spatial data section and click on Create. Certain parameters are common to all data sources, while others are specific to each type of data source.

Note that custom data source types may also exist. These are new types of data sources that are developed for special purposes using the JMap SDK.

The next configuration steps will depend on the data source type you selected. For more information on configuring a specific type of spatial data source, refer to the appropriate section in this manual.

Projections

The projection of the data source must be selected to match the projection of the data. If this parameter is not set correctly, the data displayed may be invalid.

Note: At the last stage of creating a spatial data source, the Start update automatically option allows you to initiate the update when you click on Finish. If you do not select this option, you will have to launch the update manually from the spatial data section in order for your changes to be taken into account.

Configuring Spatial Data Sources

The spatial data source (SDS) configuration interface allows you to access information on a source as well as parameter configuration functions such as metadata, permissions, and attributes.

Attributes

The attribute configuration window contains two tabs: Metadata and Attribute sample. This button is used to update the statistics of the SDS.

The Attribute sample tab displays the value of the attribute for a sample of SDS elements.

Spatial Data Source Permissions

In the details section of a spatial data source, click on Permissions to access the permissions section. You can also modify permissions in batches. To do this, select several data sources in the list and click on Permissions.

A list of authorized users and groups displays. Click on to add new users or groups. The available users and groups are configured in the JMap Server section of JMap Admin. Refer to the Managing Users and Groups section for more information on managing users in JMap.

Only administrator permissions are associated with spatial data sources.

Sharing Spatial Data Sources

Spatial data sources can be shared in order to be accessed by other JMap Server instances. This way, data can be stored in a single location but is accessible from several JMap Server instances.

In JMap Admin, you can share a spatial data source by granting the Remote access permission to one or more users on this spatial data source. This choice must be consistent with the user who established the connection from the JMap Server that must access the shared spatial data sources.

Refer to sections Spatial Data Source Permissions and JMap Server to JMap Server Connections for more information on this topic.

Once a spatial data source has been shared, a icon displays in the list of data sources, in the Shared column.

External Attributes

External attributes for a spatial data source are attributes that are obtained from an external database (external means a database that is separate from the data source itself). The external attributes are added to the list of existing attributes and can thereafter be used like any other attribute in reports, queries, mouseover, thematics, etc.

External attributes are available only for vector spatial data sources that read data from files (shp, mif, tab, dwg, dgn, etc.) and JMap Spatial tables. When working with vector data sources that access data inside existing spatial databases (PostGIS, MySQL Spatial, Oracle Spatial/Locator, etc.), this option is not available. In that case however, it is often easy to include all needed attributes using normal SQL joins with other tables or by creating views.

External attributes are created from the spatial data source creation wizard.

To create an external attribute, choose External attributes in the Attribute section of the wizard. Press Add and choose one of the following two methods: Select fields or SQL query.

Select fields

Choose this option in order to select one or more fields from a specific database table from which you want to obtain the values. This option is the simplest method, and it allows you to create several attributes at once.

SQL query

Choose this option to provide an SQL query that will extract the attribute values in the database. This method is more flexible, but limits you to creating one attribute at a time.

Metadata

Metadata can be associated with spatial data sources in JMap. It can include information such as the person who produced the data, the date it was updated, a description, etc. Users can view this information for the corresponding layers in JMap applications. Metadata can be entered directly into JMap Admin using preset templates or it can be taken from an external metadata management system. Refer to the Metadata Templates section for more information on creating templates.

To access the metadata settings of a spatial data source, click on Metadata in the details section of a spatial data source. The following options are available:

Layers whose data originates from spatial data sources with metadata will automatically inherit this metadata. Metadata can be viewed by users of JMap Web and JMap Pro applications.

Metadata templates

JMap allows you to define metadata templates to document spatial data sources directly in JMap Admin. Once the template has been defined, you can associate it to certain data sources and enter all the information, which users can then easily view in JMap’s applications. If you already use a metadata management system that can be accessed in a browser, you can also create a direct link between certain layers and this system.

You can create as many metadata templates as you want.

The metadata template management section can be accessed by clicking on Metadata templates in the Spatial data section.

Creating a metadata template

Click on Create to create a new template. The interface shows the following options.

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