Talk:GSoC project: Fast Track Deployment of Customised OSM Tile Server

I will be happy to know your comments and compliments on this, Please leave your valuable feedback and suggestions here, So that we can make it better and better or drop me E-Mail asking your queries any time at: osm@parveenarora.in. I will try answer to your queries in minimum time with best of my knowledge.

--Parveen Arora 10:22, 1 May 2011 (BST)

A few Comments from Graham Jones

I think this is a very good start for the project Purpose and Scope.

Although I think you are right that ultimately it would be nice to have a single package for installing a tileserver, I would be inclined to partition the problem up a bit more:

• Database Handling (postgresql / postgis / osm2pgsql / automatic updating of database)
• Mapnik rendering tool chain (mapnik itself, plus the 'fixed' data that the OSM style uses for coastlines etc., and some example map styles - ie full OSM style, plus some simple overlays that are easier for the user to understand).
• Tile Generator / Server - there could be a few of these ranging from a simple version that just produces the tiles as static files, to one that also updates them on a remote server via ftp as the underlying data changes, to a true tile server using the apache mod-tile extension etc - there may be more ways of doing it.
• Customisable map styles - this is a major undertaking so you will need to be realistic about what can be achieved on GSoC timescales - I have been looking at tilemill lately, which looks like it is going to be a very good map style development environment (it does not support postgresql database sources at the moment, but you can hand write the layer definitions yourself to include the database bits.

My recommendation would be to concentrate on getting the basic setup working well and design map style customisation in as a future extension to do during GSoC if you have time, or afterwards if not?

To turn this into a functional specification I think you need to walk through what the user of the package will do - what inputs will they have to provide (and how - simple terminal based interface, or web based?), and what will your package do in response to those inputs.

There will inevitably be an iteration between the Functional Specification and Design Specification, because you may find that the idea of a pure web based interface is not achievable with the most appropriate way of doing the package installation, so you may have to compromise.

Hope this helps?

Graham

Grahamjones 12:02, 2 May 2011 (BST)

Reply from Parveen Arora

Sir we can run the scripts at the back-end with providing user a interactive interface i.e It can be web or desktop application like interface just like any installer (e.g. like ubuntu installer) which at first will ask user to select area for rendering with giving him a map and a selection tool, and then will ask upto which zoom level you want to render the map, or only levels which you wants to render etc. In style editor like it will take input as colour to roads backgrounds etc. also with some styles suggesting to the user. And all the scripts will run at back-end with making a interface for user as easy as possible.

Parveen Arora

I can't wait

Or rather I probably will - my own efforts have currently stalled when trying to get either Tirex or mod_tile working. Will the choice of Tirex or mod_tile be down to the user, or will you pick one? I suspect that most people using the fast track deployment won't really care as long as it works. Either way, I look forward to trying it when it is done. I personally am more interested in the deployment part for a localised area, though the customisation sounds like it might be interesting too. -- EdLoach 13:01, 4 May 2011 (BST)

Please wait till end of August

First of all thank you for your response here, You wiil not have to wait more as we will complete it at the end of August 2011, and will launch it as its first version. For now we will pick one, but later down the line we will to give user option to choose one. Thank you for your personal interest in it. --Parveen Arora 01:14, 8 May 2011 (BST)