Lab 9: Web Services

We will look at several applications of web mapping combined with a GIS program. 

Deliverables:  Turn in a Word Document with maps and discussion of the following points:

• WMS maps.  Get a WMS map for a region in the US (this could be your home, Annapolis, or the region where you are doing your project).  Include the web URL for the GET MAP request, and discuss what comes back to the browser (or the GIS program operating like a browser). 
• Address geocoding:
  • Do geocoding from the TIGER lines shapefile for you home.
  • Do geocoding and reverse geocoding for your home.  Include the URLs for the two requests, and discuss what comes back to the browser in each case. 
  • Get the roster for a sports team, convert it into a database, and get the lat/long for the home town of each player.
• IP address geocoding: get your IP address, and run it.   How close is the IP address to your real location?

Background Reading

• WMS
• Address geocoding
• IP address geography.

Directions

• Check "Record WMS requests" in debug log, on Web tab of the options form.  This will allow you to see what the program is sending to the web servers.  You can then cut the request out of the program debug log, and paste it into the web browser. You can copy the HTTP request (it starts with "HTTP"), and paste it into a browser to see exactly what the web service returns, since the GIS program is saving you a lot of work.
• Open a map (the TIGER edges file for a county makes a good choice), and zoom to the level you want to see.  The request to the WMS server will be to get a map at the same scale and coverage area as your map, so if you have 10 m pixels on the map, you will not get much out of 6" imagery.
• Right click on the map,  Load, WMS Maps, Quick.  You can also use the toolbar button on the map toolbar.   
  • If these fail, subset and zoom on the map.  Some layers will only return for particular scales on the map.
  • Get the request from the  Debug log ., and paste it into your browser.
  • Change the request to "GetCapabilities" and see what that provides.
• Right click on the map, Geocode address.  The request to the Google server will be in the Debug log. 
  • Address to lat/long
  • Lat/long to address
• TIGER geocoding: Map query, Find address
• Bulk convert addresses into lat/long locations.
  • Open a map.
  • Open database on the map
  • Enable edits
  • Geocode addresses
• IP address geography.

Last revision 11/10/2015