Why use a mashup when you already have a GIS - Episode 5
Aug 28, 2006
The common thread between mashups is that they use location and maps as a theme, and they provide a simple visual interface for decision support.
Simple mashups can use a simple database and Google Earth to plot locations for almost any kind of data.
GIS mashups take advantage of the location processing power of geo-spatially aware databases or GIS software, to create intelligent data, that then can be mapped to the familiar and easy to use Google Earth (or MS Virtual Earth) presentation layer.
For the GIS user, mashups using these public APIs provide several advantages (see System Design and Implementation of a GIS Mashup:
- High quality maps at no cost
- Very responsive performance
- Scalability to very large numbers of users
- Familiar and intuitive user interface
- Enables users of any technical sophistication level to use GIS data
- Easy to integrate to sophisticated back end spatial processing and data validation
- Existing GIS software can pump processed data to the intutive public mapping API
A specific example is referenced for San Francisco Bay Area Geological Hazard Abatement Districts to proactively manage landslide risks.