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Linked Maps/annotation layers #131

Open sdosemagen opened 12 years ago

sdosemagen commented 12 years ago

Point: Stewart Team: Shannon, Jeff, Mathew, RJ Importance: High

rjcorwin commented 12 years ago

I originally tried to accomplish this with using the OpenLayers module but found that it was going to be a ton of work trying to integrate the custom map tiles folks were uploading. I then tried a services based approach where the maps turn into a javascript application that interacts with Drupal via web services. Unfortunately the Drupal Services module turned out to be undocumented and it sapped the steam I had on the project. There was some recent feedback on my request for documentation on the Services module that may offer a way forward http://drupal.org/node/1373614.

sdosemagen commented 12 years ago

Thanks RJ for your note and sorry that Jeff or I didn't get around earlier as well to mentioning that in discussing who could work on these things that your name had come up a couple of times, hope thats okay!

On Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 12:58 AM, R.J. Steinert < reply@reply.github.com

wrote:

I originally tried to accomplish this with using the OpenLayers module but found that it was going to be a ton of work trying to integrate the custom map tiles folks were uploading. I then tried a services based approach where the maps turn into a javascript application that interacts with Drupal via web services. Unfortunately the Drupal Services module turned out to be undocumented and it sapped the steam I had on the project. There was some recent feedback on my request for documentation on the Services module that may offer a way forward http://drupal.org/node/1373614.

Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: https://github.com/jywarren/plots/issues/131#issuecomment-5144186

gonzoearth commented 12 years ago

Thanks RJ, I need to learn about what you have uncovered. I want to perhaps suggest we consider just starting with simple point annotations to start with if that makes it easier? I'll try to research this more myself.

gonzoearth commented 12 years ago

Here is what I typed up in the objective plan: PLOTS would like to use annotations to record field notes and facilitate conversations about the things going on within the maps themselves. Map observers can comment or ask questions about what they see. Stories behind the map such as irrigation design or pollution can be told.

gonzoearth commented 12 years ago

It is also a good time to examine the relationship between map knitter and the plots archive. I am concerned about annotations in mapknitter. I think of mapknitter as the production workbench, and the archive as the permalink place where conversations, metadata, and annotations live with the maps.

jywarren commented 12 years ago

This is a duplicate of: https://github.com/jywarren/plots/issues/26

There's some interest from folks I've been talking to for making this a standalone tool, which I think i prefer (with embedding into the Archive, of course -- automated?)

Also this overlaps a good deal with: https://github.com/jywarren/mapknitter/issues/89 though we don't have to solve this in MapKnitter, of course.

"MapTeller.org" or "MapTelling.org"?

jywarren commented 12 years ago

Ah, correction -- not exactly a duplicate as RJ points out above. I am a fan of the idea of making this its own service and attempting embedding or other integration. Also related to the ongoing efforts to just screencast/record browsing around maps with Google Earth while narrating (2 people doing this together is nice) and uploading as YouTube video, as a way to try this out.

gonzoearth commented 12 years ago

so many good ideas! I like the standalone approach. Perhaps we could use KML for point and polygon annotations?

jywarren commented 12 years ago

Very nice prototype of this by stu: http://gigapan.com/gigapans/69999

rjcorwin commented 12 years ago

I support making this a separate app in whatever gets the job done sooner rather than later. Having a tight integration with the Drupal PLOTS site is a nice to have feature but not necessarily a part of the minimum viable product spec. The UI for Gigapan's annotations seem decent. The panning is wonderful for having some context as to where you are looking when you select an annotation. The missing features here seem to be:

The latter could also land in the nice to have camp...

If I had time to write this today I would create a couchdb instance for a simple key value store with a REST api and hook into the node save of a map that would PUT a new database into the couchdb instance for each map. On the map's Drupal page we would have an iframe linked to a HTML document with JS (our map annotation app). We'd feed the couchdb's url to the map annotation app and it would GET and PUT all of the annotations for that map.

mathewlippincott commented 12 years ago

Jeff's annotated map idea with an audio timeline and pauses to reveal vector data is an awesome idea http://publiclaboratory.org/notes/warren/5-15-2012/annotated-maps-roundup

and I think we can get there in stages-- as stewart said, simple annotation points or boxes with attached text are a good start, each point listed in a side/bottom bar, the way they are in gigapan.

Another simple(?) start would be to toggle between/overlay different image layers, or simply to display several maps 'stacked' in one space. In butte and several folks in Atlanta have asked for the use of historical map data-- they merely want to toggle between different time periods ala google Earth historical imagery.

If these two features, points and multiple imagery layers are implemented, then we can address the use case of highlighting historic change.

The next step is, to me, is to add vector data, highlights, and do planimeter calculations of vector highlighted areas. what about using Cartagen's vector features? can those be overlaid an an Archive or Mapknitter map?

jywarren commented 12 years ago

One suggestion by kanarinka on the research note I posted was to attempt to make "annotated maps" using existing tools, perhaps:

Then to learn from how these forms work before taking the next steps in spec'ing out a system.