Module 5.2 - Developing and Hosting OGC Services - OGC Services and Styling in GeoServer

Background

While integrating data into a web mapping platform is a critical first step, a robust geospatial data service system must also support the development and use of cartographically informative representations of the published data. GeoServer accomplishes this through the integration of the Open Geospatial Consortium’s Styled Layer Descriptor standard into the system for publishing alternative styles for vector and raster data products. This standard allows for the configuration of attribute and scale-based representations that may be advertised by name and requested by reference through the published OGC WMS services.

Expected Outcomes

At the end of this class students will be able to:

• Develop a basic SLD for a vector layer within GeoServer
• Define an attribute filter as part of an SLD to allow for differential representation of features based upon the values of one or more attribute values
• Define a scale limit filter as part of an SLD to control the scales at which a defined SLD rule will be executed

Key Concepts

At the end of this class, students will understand:

• The role of the OGC SLD standard in defining and publishing geospatial data via WMS
• The capabilities of the SLD standard to defined representation styles that may be defined in reference to attribute values and WMS request scales
• That logical comparison operators may be used to control the application of style rules to specific features

Lecture: Developing and Hosting OGC Services - OGC Services and Styling in GeoServer

Presentation Slides

Note:

The documentation links provided in the slides now point to the current (version 2.3.0) version of GeoServer that is installed on the class server. While there are some minor changes in the interface (e.g. the "Data" section of the menu on the left side of the interface has been moved higher on the page) - the functionality relating to SLDs and the process of adding them to GeoServer and linking them to layers through the "Layers" interface remains unchanged.

Lab Assignment: Completion of last week's lab assignment