Ordnance Survey – Great Britain's national mapping agency
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6.5: Web GIS (2)
Internet mapping sites
The examples on the previous page show how some GIS-like functions can be recreated using simple web authoring techniques. They are very useful because they can be built using standard web technology and do not require any specialist mapping software. They have one major drawback, however, as you are restricted to a single static map image; you cannot change the view of the map. It is much more exciting to be able to generate a new map dynamically based on choices made by the user.
There has been a remarkable explosion in the last few years of web sites offering the creation of maps for anywhere in the world, to any level of detail, based on user-defined parameters. The basic function of these sites is fairly standard: the user has a range of options for selecting a location, including place name, postcode, full address and grid location. There will be a zoom function and an ability to move around at a given scale in any direction. The key thing is that the map image delivered to the page is generated dynamically on the server; it is not a pre-prepared static image.
The range of Internet mapping sites is very diverse: some use purpose-built software, some use off-the-shelf Internet GIS software, some use raster imagery, some generate custom maps from vector data, and some provide printer-friendly versions. For some examples see the list of Ordnance Survey Licensed Partners offering web mapping.