The key to interoperable map services is the ability to
portray adjacent maps using the same symbolization scheme such that when the
maps are displayed, the visual discontinuity at the boundary is minimized.
Because of the discrepancies in mapping interpretation and intention, there are
commonly discontinuities in the definition of map units between geologic maps
produced by different authors or at different times. These discontinuities
cannot be avoided, and resolving them is a compilation process that will often
require additional field work; this is outside the scope of service deployment.
What can be avoided is visual discontinuity related to portrayals based on
different classification schemes on adjacent maps. Map unit classification
schemes for regional geologic maps typically define units based on some
combination of age, genesis, and lithology. The larger the area over which the
scheme is meant to apply, the more generalized the definition of the units must
be.
The USGIN Catalog and Data Services website (http://catalog.usgin.org) hosts several geospatial metadata catalog (CSW) and geospatial data services (WMS, WFS, WCS) implementations and clients. Although the site functions as a showcase of USGIN service implementations, the Catalog Service for the Web service (CSW - http://catalog.usgin.org/geonetwork/srv/en/csw) is a primary metadata node for the U.S. Geospatial Information Network.
GI-go is a graphical desktop client developed to easily demonstrate the capabilities of the GI-cat catalog service. User make distributed queries based on common search criteria (where, when, who, what) and gets metadata results from a variety of data sources. Data preview and download is also supported.
Distributed search on a variety of data sources:
WCS 1.0, 1.1
WMS 1.3.0, 1.1.1
WFS 1.0.0
CSW 2.0.2 Core, AP ISO 1.0, ebRIM/CIM, ebRIM/EO
THREDDS 1.0.1, NEW 1.0.2
Accessors for GeoNetwork (tested with versions 2.2.0 and 2.4.1) and deegree (tested with version 2.2) catalog services
ESRI's ArcExplorer is a lightweight, no-cost GIS data viewer. Note that the .NET version of ArcExplorer is significantly different from the Java edition.
ArcGIS Server is ESRI's network- and webservice-centric GIS application suite. Among other, ArcGIS Server offers WMS, WFS, WFS-T, WCS, and KML service capability as well as web application SDKs for JavaScript, Flex, Silverlight, .Net, and Java.
GeoServer is an open source software server written in Java
that allows users to share and edit geospatial data. Designed for
interoperability, it publishes data from any major spatial data source
using open standards.
Being a community-driven project, GeoServer is developed, tested,
and supported by a diverse group of individuals and organizations from
around the world.
deegree is a Java Framework offering the main building blocks for
Spatial Data Infrastructures. Its entire architecture is developed
using standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and ISO/TC 211
(ISO Technical Committee 211 -- Geographic Information/Geomatics).