Preface

Nowadays, web mapping is all over the internet. User friendly interfaces and efficiency are mandatory requirements for GIS, as for any other system. If you are going to start a new web mapping application, you will not start from scratch. GeoServer is one of the biggest players in the web mapping field. It has a solid developer community and a high maturity level. Although it's not an easy piece of software to master, the latest releases have greatly improved stability and ease of management. GeoServer Beginner's Guide offers you a practical introduction to GeoServer. Beginning with the installation and basic usage, you will learn to use the administration interface for adding data, configuring layers, customizing OGC services, and securing your site. You will find many step-by-step examples covering topics from data store configuration to layer publication and style customization. If all this sounds new and strange to you, don't worry; GeoServer Beginner's Guide will introduce you to the fundamentals of GIS and will then clearly explain all the basic tasks performed in order to build maps. This book is meant to expand your knowledge of web mapping from something you have either heard of or have practiced a little into something you can apply at any level to meet your needs in incorporating maps into a site. I hope you will enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.