How to implement Enterprise GIS in three weeks

Requirements

Recently I received request to implement Enterprise GIS in one of Slovenian Ministries. As usual they had limited financial resources (budget for two weeks consulting) and big expectations. Open source solution was obvious choice.

Requirements included Web application implementation in conjunction with the following systems and software:

• File System on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 server,
• IIS Web Application Server,
• MapGuide Server.

Web map should be prepared with agreed symbology and visualization depending on map scale.  The map should have the following layers:

• Raster underlay (DOF) for the large scale maps of 1:10,000 or greater,
• Land Cadastre with the owners of the parcels,
• Other spatial layers (administrative areas – state border, municipal boundaries, names of settlements, addresses,  roads layer, layer of railways and layers of public infrastructure).

Functions of GIS web application should be basic:

• map navigation ( pan, zoom, zoom to the full extend),
• measuring distances,
• buffer,
• identify – displaying information about the selected object resulting from the attribute table in the database,
• a list of layers.

One of the choices I had to make was database platform. Data provided by Surveying and Mapping Authority of the republic of Slovenia consisted of shape files, geo-referenced raster data and ASCII files with Land Cadastre attribute information. First choice was SDF format, but on suggestion of my colleagues to try something new,  I choose SQLite. SQLite is simple, robust, easy to use and really lightweight file database (http://www.sqlite.org/). SpatiaLite extension enables SQLite to support spatial data. You can find more about SpatiaLite on http://www.gaia-gis.it/spatialite/.

First challenge was to import vector and attribute data into database.