Introduction

QGIS is a classic desktop geographic information system (GIS). However, these days only working with local data just isn't enough. You want to be able to freely use data from the web without spending days downloading this data. At the same time, you want to be able to put maps online for a much wider audience than a paper map or PDF. This is where web services come in. QGIS can be both a web service client and a web server, providing you with lots of options to use and share geographic data. This chapter covers the basics of using open web services for geographic data and a few methods to put your maps online.