I am new to the web mapping arena. I currently am managing a website and would like to add a mapping portion to it, mostly for some simple viewing and querying of a small number of layers.
For simplicity, I would like to use SQLite as the data store. I will use Quantum GIS or some such to load the spatial data into the SQLite database. Then ftp that onto the web site's directory structure.
I know that I will use OpenLayers to actually develop the map that is integrated into the web page.
I am thinking that FeatureServer would be appropriate to access the data from the SQLite database and convert it to a format that OpenLayers is able to consume. Is this correct and will it work? If so, how do I install this on a godaddy type server? If not, what would be appropriate software to use?
I would like to use Open Source software to accomplish this task.
Addtl Info – 2011/02/02 11:30AM PT
To answer amercader
– Yes, I can install software. I also have php and python installed, and can run CGI scrips.
To all
– It seems that Django is similar to Featureserver, I guess. I seem to be stuck at where or how to go about installing these programs. I only know how to access the web site via ftp, I don't know how to access via command line. Part of my problem is not knowing the correct questions to ask to get the correct answers.
– Perhaps the most direct question to ask is how do I install Featureserver on a shared hosting account like godaddy?
To underdark
– a text file would be an easy solution, indeed. I would like to make this scalable for the longer term, as well as having to reduce conversion steps to get my data posted. In the future, I would potentially like to accept user input that will modify the spatial data being stored, thus making a text file a less desirable option.
Thanks all for input so far, it is appreciated.
Best Answer
You can use GeoDjango on a shared server at http://www.alwaysdata.com (just check the features list and the prices: http://www.alwaysdata.com/plans/shared )
They have VERY competitive prices and you can even test the env for free.
They do the PostGIS configuration on their side and the installation of geoDjango so that you don't have to configure anything.
Just create a free account, then drop them an email to ask for installation of PostGIS on your account (create a PostGres DB first and give them its name). Their support is quite fast even for free account.
I know this because I did it for myself and I have a fully PostGIS / Django GIS environment working with alwaysdata.com (I can even remotely connect to my PostGIS db with QGis ;)