OpenLayers Report 2008 - Revision history

Wiki-Euzuro: /* Opportunities to Help */

2009-03-05T16:51:38Z

Opportunities to Help

Wiki-Euzuro: /* Key Accomplishments */

2009-03-05T16:48:31Z

Key Accomplishments

Wiki-Euzuro: /* Key Accomplishments */

2009-03-05T16:45:58Z

Key Accomplishments

Wiki-Crschmidt: /* Opportunities to Help */

2009-03-05T15:39:03Z

Opportunities to Help

Wiki-Crschmidt: /* Areas for Improvement */

2009-03-05T15:35:15Z

Areas for Improvement

Wiki-Crschmidt at 15:28, 5 March 2009

2009-03-05T15:28:11Z

Wiki-Euzuro: New page: == OpenLayers == * Contact name: '''Erik Uzureau, Chris Schmidt, Tim Schaub''' === Key Accomplishments === * Two Major Releases in 2008: * 2.6 * Improved Popup Library * Anima...

2009-03-04T17:44:45Z

New page: == OpenLayers == * Contact name: '''Erik Uzureau, Chris Schmidt, Tim Schaub''' === Key Accomplishments === * Two Major Releases in 2008: * 2.6 * Improved Popup Library * Anima...

New page

== OpenLayers ==

* Contact name: '''Erik Uzureau, Chris Schmidt, Tim Schaub'''

=== Key Accomplishments ===

* Two Major Releases in 2008:
* 2.6
* Improved Popup Library
* Animated Panning and Transitions
* Internationalization Support
* MapGuide Layer
* Powerful new API for Styling data
* 2.7
* Vector Behavior API (Strategies, Protocols, Filters, etc)
* Canvas support for Vectors
* Z and Y ordering for Vector Layers
* OGC Standard SLD support

* New Case Studies Section - Detailed prose by different projects:
* Decision to use OpenLayers
* How OpenLayers was integrated
* Analysis of strengths/weaknesses of OpenLayers

=== Areas for Improvement ===

* Documentation, as with any open source project, is always in need of expansion and improvement.
* Thorough API review. As we bend towards the 8th release of the 2nd OpenLayers API, there are many who long for a massive spring cleaning session to build a 3.0 version of the library.

=== Opportunities to Help ===

* The now-formalized Case Studies section needs more contributions. Help others to understand why/how you chose to use the OpenLayers library.
* Internationalization - We currently have only 15 of the 7,000 living languages translated in the library. The translation process is simple (only 28 strings total).
* Ticket Review - As always, there are many more tickets with patches waiting review than available developer hours.
* Documentation - Efforts continue to improve the library's documentation, but the *users* are really those who can best help with this mission.

=== Outlook for 2009 ===

2009 brings new leadership to the project's Steering Committee as Tim Schaub takes over the reigns as the new PSC chair.

Efforts are already underway for a 2.8 release which will include long-awaited WFS Protocol functionality, as well as a massive improvement to OpenLayers's vector capabilities which increase performance and interactivity for maps integrating multiple vector layers.

__notoc__
[[Category: Reports 2008]]

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 * OpenLayers is now a member of the OSGeo Project Sponsorship program, which allows organizations to support the project financially through donations to OSGeo. If your organization is using OpenLayers successfully, consider donating funds to the project to help support its continued success.
-* The now-formalized Case Studies section needs more contributions. If your organization is using OpenLayers and successful with it, share your success with others, and help them to understand why and how you chose to use the OpenLayers library.
+* The new Case Studies section needs more contributions. If your organization is or has considered using OpenLayers, share your story with others, and help them to understand why and how you chose to use OpenLayers.
 * Internationalization  - We currently have only 15 of the 7,000 living languages translated in the library. The translation process is simple (only 28 strings total).
 * Ticket Review - As always, there are many more tickets with patches waiting review than available developer hours. If you have even a little experience with JavaScript, you can help to try out the new code that developers are writing and offer feedback.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 The 2.7 release added improved rendering capabilities and the ability to read OGC standard SLD style documents. "Vector Behaviours", a massive development and the driving feature of the release, allows users to easily extend OpenLayers to support communication with custom data providers through open or proprietary protocols.
-Alongside the improvements in the project's codebase, many excellent additions were made to the OpenLayers website. The "Gallery" section, which catalogues different live deployments of OpenLayers, was rewritten to be both easier to use and more visually compelling. It now proudly showcases more than 75 uses of the library, complete with screenshots and detailed descriptions.
+Alongside the improvements in the project's codebase, many excellent additions were made to the OpenLayers website. The "Gallery" section, which catalogues different live deployments of OpenLayers, was rewritten to be both easier to use and more visually compelling. It now proudly showcases more than 75 uses of the library, complete with screenshots and detailed descriptions. The Documentation section of the website was also thoroughly revamped. Both the standard library documentation as well as the FAQ sections of the site were migrated away from the wiki and into a more structured, elegant format for presentation. Finally, a "Case Studies" section was added to the website which allows organizations to share why they chose OpenLayers and the experience they've had working with and supporting the project.
 === Areas for Improvement ===

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 In 2008, OpenLayers had two major releases that demonstrate the majority of our work on the library in this time frame.
-The OpenLayers 2.6 release added significant visual improvements, including animated panning of the map and improved popup support for better in-map visualization. In support of our growing international usage, we added internationalization support. We also added a powerful new API for styling client side data, and added support for connecting to MapGuide data sources.
+OpenLayers 2.6 added significant visual improvements, including animated panning of the map and improved popup support for better in-map visualization. In support of our growing international usage, the project now includes a system for internationalization support into the library. We also added a powerful new API for styling client side data, and added support for connecting to MapGuide data sources.
-OpenLayers 2.7 added improved rendering capabilities, and added the ability to read OGC standard SLD style documents. There was also a significant development in pushing for vector behaviors, allowing users to easily extend OpenLayers to support communication with custom data providers through open or proprietary protocols.
+The 2.7 release added improved rendering capabilities and the ability to read OGC standard SLD style documents. "Vector Behaviours", a massive development and the driving feature of the release, allows users to easily extend OpenLayers to support communication with custom data providers through open or proprietary protocols.
-In addition to code improvements, in 2008 OpenLayers added a revamped demonstration gallery, showing off more than 75 uses of OpenLayers with descriptions, screenshots, and more. In addition to the gallery, the OpenLayers website now has case studies -- organizations which have shared their usage of OpenLayers by explaining how that decision came about and is supported.
+Alongside the improvements in the project's codebase, many excellent additions were made to the OpenLayers website. The "Gallery" section, which catalogues different live deployments of OpenLayers, was rewritten to be both easier to use and more visually compelling. It now proudly showcases more than 75 uses of the library, complete with screenshots and detailed descriptions.
 === Areas for Improvement ===

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 === Areas for Improvement ===
- * Documentation, as with any open source project, is always in need of expansion and improvement.
+* Documentation, as with any open source project, is always in need of expansion and improvement. With the new OpenLayers documentation site up and running, it is now easier to create documentation.
- * Thorough API review. As we bend towards the 8th release of the 2nd OpenLayers API, there are many who long for a massive spring cleaning session to build a 3.0 version of the library.
+* Thorough API review. As we bend towards the 8th release of the 2nd OpenLayers API, there are many who long for a massive spring cleaning session to build a 3.0 version of the library.
+* Improved access to third party services. With the new protocols and formats, it is now possible to easily create tools which allow OpenLayers to communicate with more servers. One target which has thus far been neglected, for example, is ESRI's server products, both in access to map tiles and vector data. It would be great to see the community step up to help support these important targets.
 === Opportunities to Help ===

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 === Key Accomplishments ===
-* Two Major Releases in 2008:
+In 2008, OpenLayers had two major releases that demonstrate the majority of our work on the library in this time frame.
-* New Case Studies Section - Detailed prose by different projects:
+The OpenLayers 2.6 release added significant visual improvements, including animated panning of the map and improved popup support for better in-map visualization. In support of our growing international usage, we added internationalization support. We also added a powerful new API for styling client side data, and added support for connecting to MapGuide data sources.
-  * Decision to use OpenLayers
-  * How OpenLayers was integrated
+OpenLayers 2.7 added improved rendering capabilities, and added the ability to read OGC standard SLD style documents. There was also a significant development in pushing for vector behaviors, allowing users to easily extend OpenLayers to support communication with custom data providers through open or proprietary protocols.
-  * Analysis of strengths/weaknesses of OpenLayers
 === Areas for Improvement ===