Research On WebGIS Development Method Based On Spring Framework And ArcIMS

With the growing demand for geographic information and the rapid development of Internet technology, WebGIS, as a combination of GIS technology and Internet technology, is becoming increasingly popular and has penetrated into various fields of application.Different methods exist in today's WebGIS development. By different implementation mechanism, WebGIS development can be classified into CGI, Server API development based on server mode, and Plug-in, Java Applet and ActiveX development based on server mode; by development level, WebGIS development is divided into fundamental development and secondary development. It becomes hotspot in recent research on WebGIS development that how to make high-efficiency and robust WebGIS development.This paper introduces the methodology to build a WebGIS application using Spring framework and ESRI ArcIMS platform. In the application, ArcIMS Java Connector is used as the tool for the implantation of WebGIS functions, and Spring framework plays the role of a manager of the whole WebGIS application framework. Fully enjoying the advantages of the hierarchical.structure of itself, Spring framework separates the view performance layer, business logic layer and data access layer independently, makes a multi-level, modular, extensible, easy to transplant, independent platform WebGIS application possible, and provides an effective solution for quickly developing a high efficiency and robust WebGIS system.Effective solutions for respective layers are introduced in this paper. In the data access layer, different methods of data access are adopted for spatial data and non-spatial data, spatial data access calls ArcIMS API and non-spatial data uses JDBC/JDO to access the relational database; in the business logic layer, design pattern of Spring IOC conducts effective management and flexible configuration for functional code; in the view performance layer, Spring MVC successes in separating the performance layer and logic layer, and supported by XML/XSL technology, more flexible customization and design for web pages is possible in WebGIS system.The paper presents the methodology of integrating Spring, such a lightweight J2EE structure into the WebGIS design which fully enjoys the advantage of multi-level structure and avoids the complexity using EJB structure. Moreover, XML/XSL instead of HTML provides a more flexible solution in web page design and customization in WebGIS.