Services

The advantage of standards – several examples

We would like to demonstrate to you how geodata services can be implemented with a good performance. For this we have implemented some map services on our OWS server (OWS by the way stands for “OGC Web Services”), which you are welcome to use for free. On the same server you will also find applications, that show you added value of these services.

Under ows.terrestris.de terrestris provides some OGC-compliant services for free. Please use these services for demonstration purposes or in your own applications. Feedback for our services realised with Open Source Software and using free data is welcome at any time.

In detail we are offering exemplary implementations of the following, established standards:

• WMS (Web Map Service)

Via WMS geodata from a variety of sources can be published as pictures. On principle WMS are used for the visualisation of geodata:

• Base map for Germany generated from OpenStreetMap-data
• Bus- and Tramway stops for Germany (also based on OpenSreetMap-data)
• ASTER digital terrain model with 30m resolution for Germany (data from the Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center, ERSDAC)
• more details available at http://ows.terrestris.de/dienste.html#wms

• WFS (Web Feature Service)

With a WFS geodata is exchangeable in a standard compliant way in the form of features (geometries and attributes). In contrast to a WMS the response can be further processed thanks to formats which can be read by man or machines:

• Countries worldwide (border polygons & centroids)
• Tramway stops from OSM (Germany)
• Bars and pubs from OSM (Germany)
• more details available at http://ows.terrestris.de/dienste.html#wfs

• WPS (Web Processing Service)

The processing of geodata can be standardised via WPS. Classic requirements are for example the calculation of a buffer around a vector geometry or the spatial merging of geometries:

• Base-WPS with Sextante
• more details available at http://ows.terrestris.de/dienste.html#wps

• SOS (Sensor Observation Service)

To manage sensors (i.e. weather stations) and especially to access their measured data (so called observations) one can use the SOS interface. The SOS-API is part of the OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) Standard.

• Weather-SOS (currently for Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig and München)
• more details available at http://ows.terrestris.de/dienste.html#sos

In addition we are providing a geocoding service, which allows a simplified and filtered access to data from our WFS:

• Country search by ISO-code or name
• OSM-POIs (Points-of-Interest)
• more details available at http://ows.terrestris.de/dienste.html#geokodierungsdienst