GIS mapping

don't even know enough to ask a good question

[rcjordan]

I've been looking a map serving from a database, and all the searches seem to lead to an opensource project called mapserver [mapserver.gis.umn.edu] (catchy name, eh?). From the write-ups, both on this site and others using it, it appears to be coming together quite nicely. For those planning to serve simple maps rather than a detailed road atlas, this looks like the right spot for the scripting, but my next question is great, but where does the database come from? I'm guessing here, matching buzz-words like 'shapefiles' that I've gleaned from scanning what I've found so far, but this looks like a likely prospect for US county maps, as an example
[census.gov...]

Any geospatial savants here? Am I on the right trail? Hot? Cold? Lukewarm?

[lorax]

Medium cold. ;)

[esri.com...]

[opengis.org...]

[rcjordan]

The ARC stuff looks to be higher-end apps than I need, lorax. I'm not going after mapquest (just yet). They do, however, point back to the census bureau and shapefiles again.

[esri.com...]

[pendanticist]

rcjordan I posted a dozen or so links some weeks back that had a couple I think are right up your alley.

Do you think I can find them now?

Nooooooooooooooooooooo....

Pendanticist.

[rcjordan]

I bookmarked all of those, pen. Thanks.

I keep getting drawn back into this mapping, particularly the mapping of US counties. I saw some script boards discussing using gd.pm -they were generating rough county maps.

[pendanticist]

You're welcome.

Pendanticist.

[sun818]

The source database comes from Census.gov:
[census.gov...]

As long as you are using the data for display purposes, the TIGER files are perfect. I worked a lot with the 1990 TIGER files (for California). We found some issues when we started working in the Census Tract and Census Block Group level. It seems some shapes were not "closed" making it impossible to perform any type of calculation on them. I haven't worked with these in over 5 years, so its possible the 2000 version addressed these issues.

[lorax]

Sorry RCJ,
I didn't realize you were looking to manipulate the info yourself.

[rcjordan]

> manipulate the info yourself.

Why rent if you can own, eh?

I'm already serving up some heavy-duty stuff that no one would have thought possible just 3 or 4 years ago. Figured I might as well go for the maps now, it feels like all the pieces are out there for the relatively simple information my visitors want.

[rcjordan]

been spelunking on the links from pendanticist. sure looks like the data is out there, now to crack what it takes to serve them without requiring any browser plug-ins. here's an interesting find:

[docs.lib.duke.edu...]

[GeorgeGG]

This is the data I'm using:
[geonames.usgs.gov...]

This is how I show it:
[tiger.census.gov...]
using the The 48 contiguous United States map in the
example on bottom of page.

GeorgeGG