Configuring vector data sources

GeoServer has several built-in vector data sources. Shapefiles and PostGIS are great formats to store your spatial data.

Adding a properties file

You can store your data in Java properties files. This is a great option if you only have a handful of features (under 25, for example), and creating a real data store would be overkill. You can also add features at runtime without the need to recreate or reconfigure the data store. A properties file is a text file containing a header and a row for each record with KEY=VALUE pairs. Do you remember the places list in Chapter 1, GIS Fundamentals? You can publish it in GeoServer with this properties file:

_=id:Integer,code:String,name:String,country:Geometry:srid=4326
places.1=1|Rome|Italy|POINT(12.492 41.890)
places.2=2|Grand Canyon|Usa|POINT(-112.122 36.055)
places.3=3|Paris|France|POINT(2.294 48.858)
places.4=4|Iguazu National Park|Argentina|POINT(-54.442 -25.688)
places.5=5|Ayers Rock|Australia|POINT(131.036 -25.345...