Web-based Thematic Map Service in OpenGIS Environment

Thematic maps are nowadays widely used in a variety of research domains and human daily lives to depict and analyze spatial phenomena in reality. Though current Web-based GISs can already display thematic maps via internet, their content is nonetheless restricted to those maps already stored in databases. Naïve users, with limited cartographic knowledge and GIS software experience, can hardly submit their data and create thematic maps that meet their demands. In this paper, we proposed a web-based thematic map service that successfully integrates various services complying with numerous OpenGIS standards like GDAS, GLS, and WMS. The intelligent and automatic mapping capability of the proposed service is further improved by introducing built-in rule-based cartographic knowledge. Comparing to some of the current closed and inflexible centralized data archive; the proposed system architecture, though still preliminary, holds apparent advantages by having the standardized interface between servers, easier data integration and interoperability and the convenient map design environment to users without prerequisite knowledge.