[udig-devel] R: [Geoserver-users] R: SLD editor

[Fabio Da Soghe <fabio.dasoghe@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I completely agree: there is a big middle ground between the simplest SLD and the monstrous one currently uncovered by a tool (neither open source nor proprietary, as far as I know). In a typical GIS scenario we see the GIS operator (as such, not a programmer able to hand-code the SLD) creating important thematic symbolizations for data he/she has built. Every commercial GIS software today can do that (ArcGis, MicroStation, AutoCAD, Geomedia, etc.) but there's no way to export that simbolization in SLD.

We found this: http://arcmap2sld.geoinform.fh-mainz.de/ArcMap2SLDConverter_Eng.htm

The interesting idea is that you can use all the power and user-friendlyness of such a rich tool like ArcGis and having its thematism converted in an SLD file; of course that conversion tool is far from complete :-(

If I can say, I think it was a pity to have several very basic SLD editors open source (MapBuilder, maybe Geoserver is creating one too), even web based (isn't it a nonsense to create such a complex GUI tool in a web interface?), and not developing a single robust and complete tool, like uDig could became (there are not many fast improvements in this direction, it seems to me).

Only my 1 cent.

Cheers,

Fabio

> -----Messaggio originale-----
> Da: Andrea Aime [mailto:aaime@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
> Inviato: mercoledì 21 febbraio 2007 15.41
> A: Fabio Da Soghe
> Cc: 'geoserver-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; User-friendly 
> Desktop Internet GIS
> Oggetto: Re: [Geoserver-users] R: SLD editor
> 
> Fabio Da Soghe ha scritto:
> > Indeed this seems very odd to me: I was sure there would have been 
> > plenty of open source utility to edit visually an SLD style, but 
> > there's none today.
> > 
> > In my company we are in great difficult for this reason: 
> programmers 
> > are the only capable of editing an SLD document with good 
> proficiency 
> > but they are busy developing the application that will use 
> it, and the 
> > GIS people has not all the XML and WMS knowledge needed to 
> create more 
> > then the simplest style.
> > 
> > Maybe SLD is not so much used today?
> 
> The only systems I know using SLD are those Geotools based, 
> and DeeGree.
> uDig uses SLD under covers, whilst unfortunately Geoserver 
> does not have an SLD editor. To be fair, uDig covers the most 
> common cases, and makes you revert to SLD hand coding for the 
> most complex issues.
> 
> The WMS spec did not force people to use SLD, and given the 
> complexity of the specification, most just flew away.
> 
> I agree an SLD editor is very much needed, yet:
> * basic cases are handled by uDig. The only pity is that it's hard to
>    build a complex layered style with different "simple" styles for
>    different scale levels, and hard to apply filters (the CQL module
>    would allow for quick and intutive filter spec input).
> * more complex ones tend to turn into scripts anyways. On the
>    Sigma demo we do have an SLD that is around 2000 lines, 
> any graphical
>    editor allowing to play with such a best would not probably be much
>    simpler than coding XML directly...
> 
> I guess the middle ground is the interesting territory that's 
> not covered, that is, scales and filters with relatively 
> static symbolizers.
> uDig could evolve to cover it.
> 
> Cheers
> Andrea
> 
>