GIS and Remote Sensing

Web GIS and Web Mapping

It is the process of using the maps delivered by geographic information systems (GIS) in World Wide Web. A web map on the World Wide Web is both served and consumed, thus web mapping is more than just web cartography, it is a service by which consumers may choose what the map will show. Web GIS emphasizes geodata processing aspects more involved with design aspects such as data acquisition and server software architecture such as data storage and algorithms, than it does the end-user reports themselves. The terms web GIS and web mapping remain somewhat synonymous. Web GIS uses web maps, and end users who are web mapping are gaining analytical capabilities. The term location-based services refer to web mapping consumer goods and services. Web mapping usually involves a web browser or other user agent capable of client-server interactions. Questions of quality, usability, social benefits, and legal constraints are driving its evolution. The advent of web mapping can be regarded as a major new trend in cartography. Web mapping has brought many geographical datasets, including free ones generated by Open Street Map and proprietary datasets owned by Navteq, Google, Waze, and others. A range of free software to generate maps has also been conceived and implemented alongside proprietary tools like ArcGIS. As a result, the barrier to entry for serving maps on the web has been lowered.