I'll take a shot at answering this, from the perspective of a GeoServer user. I don't know exactly what a Demis map file contains and describes, but you may be able to use SLD for this purpose. GeoServer uses SLD with WMS to allow you to control stylization for your layers. Another alternative might be to use Community Mapbuilder, which uses OGC's Web Map Context standard for adding layers and styles together to form a map.
http://geoserver.org/display/GEOSDOC/SLD+Intro+Tutorial
http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/sld
http://communitymapbuilder.osgeo.org/
http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/wmc
Keeping in mind that Mapbuilder is an end-of-life product, it may be able to do what you want over the timescale you want.
As for adding together datasources such as you describe, you can do it either before the service layer (by combining your datastores into one database, e.g. PostGIS or by using the unsupported MySQL extension for GeoServer), or afterwards, in the client. For an example of something like the second alternative, take a look at
http://openlayers.org/dev/examples/example-list.html
at the GeoRSS PointTrack in OpenLayers demo. You would want to create something similar by publishing out your MySQL data as a GeoRSS service. Frankly, I think that you'd be much better off with option #1; moving both your shapefiles and your database data into a robust solution like PostGIS. GeoServer's support for PostGIS is superb, and the GIS community around it is rich and established.
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A. Soroka / Digital Scholarship Services R & D
the University of Virginia Library
On Aug 12, 2008, at 11:59 PM, Norman E. Avila G. wrote:
Hi, I iam new to geoserver, I have used Demis WMS with the flash client, i like geoserver interfase but i have feel it is far more complicated, this is what i need to assess in geoserver
1. as far as i understand i add each layer (shp) and add it on the url, is there a way to create a map file similar to demis ?
2. i have seen more with openlayers, how can i overlay several points or lines tracks read for a xml ? or something ? I have gps point stored on a mysql database (latitude and longitude) i will like to plot based on some criteria.. how is this accomplished ?
thanks
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Norman E. Avila
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