Mapping in the Cloud

Michael P. Peterson, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Geography/Geology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he has been on the faculty since 1982. He has been a visiting scholar or fellow at universities around the world; most recently, he was Fulbright Fellow and Visiting Professor at the Technical University of Vienna, Austria (1999, 2011), Visiting Professor at the University of Applied Technology in Munich, Germany (1999, 2000, 2001), Visiting Research Fellow at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada (2004), and Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand (2012). Dr. Peterson is past president of the North American Cartographic Information Society and former editor of Cartographic Perspectives. The author of numerous articles and several books, he chaired the Commission on Maps and the Internet of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) from 1999 to 2011 and is currently chair of the ICA's publication committee.

Peterson's book is both a primer on enduring principles of cartography and a hands-on, down-and-dirty guide to the mashups, scripts, tools, and work-arounds that are the new playing field of 21st-century cartography. This text offers the keys to geo-enabled Web maps, database searches, Web design, and cloud computing. Peterson uses such simple and clear explanations of what to do that readers will be surprised by how painlessly they reach the giddy heights of web coding. For those who love maps--and also love coding, scripting, and making cool stuff happen on the Web--this book is your jumping-off point.--Keith Clarke, PhD, Department of Geography, University of California, Santa BarbaraPeterson successfully covers a mix of theory and practical applications. Each chapter is built on solid cartographic principles, but the text's real distinctiveness is how those principles are connected to today's technologies. A welcome addition to the literature on cartography and GIS Science, this is an excellent text for classes in computer mapping, cartography and GIS visualization, or Web mapping application development.--Jeffrey S. Torguson, PhD, Department of Geography and Planning, St. Cloud State UniversityA seminal contribution to the rapidly expanding field of Internet and Web-based mapping. The text is written at a level that can be grasped by beginning students but can also help professionals learn the details of Internet mapping operations. Peterson provides detailed examples of map creation and use and guides the reader to design, develop, and implement Web-based mapping projects.--E. Lynn Usery, PhD, Research Geographer and Director, Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science, U.S. Geological Survey, Rolla, MissouriThis text provides access to an exciting new world and grounds the reader in important concepts. Alternating chapters cover theoretical and practical aspects of making effective online maps. The book is rich in ideas, illustrations, and examples of codes that will soon have the reader creating accessible, interesting, and useful maps.--Patrick Kennelly, PhD, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Long Island University-

• 1. An Introduction to Maps and the Internet2. The Internet Map Landscape3. The Meaning of Mapping4. A Map Gallery5. Maps as a Mirror of Civilization6. The Online Street Map7. Map Scale and Abstraction8. Programming the Web with JavaScript9. Map Digitizing and GPS10. Map Mashups11. Points and Point Data12. Point Maps and Graduated Symbols13. The Online Map14. Line and Area Map Mashups15. Map Layers and GIS16. Map Layer Mashups17. Databases, MySQL, and PHP18. Mapping from a Database19. Mobile Mapping20. Local Mapping21. Maps That Move22. Animated Mapping23. The Cartographic Exchange