Server-side web GIS applications allow you to access GIS data stored in a multi-user database. This means that your data will always be current and any changes that other users make to the data will be immediately available in your application. You will be able to build complex GIS applications where some users will only be able to view certain data that you allow them and other users will be able to add, edit, and delete data from a web-interface. This means that your users will be able to interact with your GIS database from any device that has a compatible browser and an internet connection. They may be working in the field from a mobile device or from home on a mac OS computer, or on the other side of the world on a Linux computer.
This course uses PHP for the server-side language because of its popularity and its wide availability on web servers. We will use PostGIS as a spatial database, again because of its popularity and common usage in GIS applications. I teach standard web development methods that have stood the test of time and will still be available in many years after the latest, greatest, technology has been replaced with something even better. My goal as an instructor is to provide an introduction to the basic concepts. I don’t think you will find any limitations with the software that I teach but if you ultimately decide to use a different server-side language, database, or a newer framework the methods you learn here will provide a solid foundation.
Best of all, this course uses all open source software so there are no costs involved. I have had projects involving more than 50 people, including clients, accessing the same database through web interfaces and desktop GIS for several years with no problem and with no cost other than web-hosting which cost us about $10/month total.
