computer science

Web Map Service

Web Map Service is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Web Map Service rather than just read about it. In short: A Web Map Service (WMS) is a standard protocol developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium in 1999 for serving georeferenced map images over the Internet. These images are typically produced by a map server from data provided by a GIS database.

Key takeaways

Web Map Service belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Web Map Service to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Web Map Service from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A Web Map Service (WMS) is a standard protocol developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium in 1999 for serving georeferenced map images over the Internet. These images are typically produced by a map server from data provided by a GIS database.

History The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) became involved in developing standards for web mapping after a paper was published in 1997 by Allan Doyle, outlining a "WWW Mapping Framework". The OGC established a task force to come up with a strategy, and organized the "Web Mapping Testbed" initiative, inviting pilot web mapping projects that built upon ideas by Doyle and the OGC task force. Results of the pilot projects were demonstrated in September 1999, and a second phase of pilot projects ended in April 2000. The Open Geospatial Consortium released WMS version 1.0.0 in April 2000, followed by version 1.1.0 in June 2001, and version 1.1.1 in January 2002. The OGC released WMS version 1.3.0 in January 2004.

Requests WMS specifies a number of different request types, two of which are required by any WMS server:

GetCapabilities – returns parameters about the WMS (such as map image format and WMS version compatibility) and the available layers (map bounding box, coordinate reference systems, URI of the data and whether the layer is mostly opaque or not) GetMap – returns a map image. Parameters include: width and height of the map, coordinate reference system, rendering style, image format Request types that WMS providers may optionally support include:

GetFeatureInfo – if a layer is marked as 'queryable' then you can request data about a coordinate of the map image. DescribeLayer – returns the feature types of the specified layer or layers, which can be further described using WFS or WCS requests. This request is dependent on the Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD) Profile of WMS. GetLegendGraphic – returns an image of the map's legend image, giving a visual guide to map elements. All communication is served through HTTP.

Map image A WMS server usually serves the map in a bitmap format, e.g. PNG, GIF, JPEG, etc. In addition, vector graphics can be included, such as points, lines, curves and text, expressed in SVG or WebCGM format.

Software Open source software that provide web map services capability include:

deegree GeoServer MapServer MapGuide Open Source QGIS Server Proprietary server software that allow providing web map services include:

ArcGIS Server ArcIMS Cubeserv from Terrapixel GeoWebPublisher from Bentley Systems GeognoSIS from Cadcorp GeoMedia Oracle MapViewer SIAS (Smallworld Internet Application Server) from GE Energy Autodesk's Infrastructure Map Server Manifold System MapTiler Server Luciad's LuciadLightspeed and LuciadFusion products Open source standalone (client side) software that allow viewing web map services include:

Marble Proprietary standalone (client side) software that allow viewing web map services include:

Google Earth Esri ArcGIS & ArcGIS Explorer Global Mapper Kongsberg Gallium Ltd. InterVIEW / InterMAPhics Luciad's LuciadLightspeed, LuciadRIA and LuciadMobile products WMS is a widely supported format for maps and GIS data accessed via the Internet and loaded into client side GIS software. Major commercial GIS and mapping software that support WMS include:

Autodesk's Map 3D and Civil 3D products Bentley Systems' MicroStation, Bentley Map, desktop and server based GIS products Cadcorp SIS product suite D3.js ESRI's ArcGIS products GeoMedia Global Mapper Kinetica Manifold System MapInfo Professional Maptitude Mapping Software MATLAB and Mapping Toolbox Qlik Sense Tableau Open source software that supports WMS include:

QGIS uDig OpenJUMP MapGuide Open Source NASA World Wind GRASS GIS GeoTrellis JOSM gvSIG OpenLayers Leaflet.js GE Energy's SIAS, an Ajax library, supports WMS for integrating WMS maps into web pages, as does Mapbender

See also Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) Web Coverage Service (WCS) Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) Web Feature Service (WFS) Tile Map Service, a specification by Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) for tiled map layers

References

External links

Official website OpenGIS Web Map Service (WMS) Implementation Specification, Version 1.3.0, 2006-Mar-15, 06-042 A concise overview of the WMS paradigm and keywords by Natural Resources Canada

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Web Map Service

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Web Map Service claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Web Map Service before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Web Map Service ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Web Map Service

In research: Web Map Service appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Web Map Service in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Web Map Service is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics GIS software, ISO/TC 211, Open Geospatial Consortium, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Web Map Service outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Web Map Service in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Web Map Service means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Web Map Service out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Web Map Service in simple terms?

Why does Web Map Service matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Web Map Service?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Web Map Service.