Features

GeoServer Features

  • Fully compliant to WMS, WFS (1.0 and 1.1) and WCS specifications, as tested by the CITE conformance tests.
  • Easy to use web-based configuration tool - no need to touch long, complicated config files.
  • Mature support for PostGIS, Shapefile, ArcSDE, DB2 and Oracle.
  • VPF, MySQL, MapInfo, and Cascading WFS are also supported formats.
  • On the fly reprojection, with an embedded EPSG database supporting hundreds of projections by default.
  • Web Map output as jpeg, gif, png, SVG, GeoJSON GeoRSS.
  • Excellent Google Earth Support
  • Raw vector data available as GML and zipped Shapefiles through the WFS.
  • [WCS and WMS Raster] support, including support for
  • Anti-aliased images.
  • Integrated OpenLayers as a default ajax viewer.
  • Standards compliant 'by default' - no need to figure out complex configuration options just to serve basic data.
  • Streaming data readers: no memory bound limit to the amount of data that can be returned.
  • Full SLD support, both user defined (POST and GET), as well as used in styling configuration.
  • Full Filter support on all data formats in WFS (but optimized for backend format where possible).
  • Support for atomic database transactions through the standard WFS-T protocol, available on all data formats.
  • Long Transactions through a full implementation of the Locking portion of the WFS specification.
  • Innovative Validation Engine that checks inserted features against a configured set of topological and attributed based rules, to maintain backend integrity.
  • Java (J2EE) servlet-based, can run in any servlet container.
  • Designed for extension, source code that's a pleasure to read.
  • Easy to write new data formats with GeoTools DataStore interfaces and helper classes, making GeoServer the standards based interface to legacy data.
  • No need to recompile to support more data formats, GeoTools DataStores instantly plug-in to GeoServer, even showing up as an option in the configuration gui.
  • True open source development style, built by a strong community, that you can join and become a part of, tailoring GeoServer for your needs.
  • Documentation that details everything in easy to understand language.
  • Active email lists for quick support.
  • Commercial grade installation, support, customization and improvements available from an eco-system of companies, non-profits, and consulting individuals.
  • more....

Coming Soon

These features should be available in the next 3-6 months. If you are interested in them, don't hesitate to jump on the lists and start helping us to test these and bring them to stability and available in the main GeoServer distribution.

  • nDimensional coverages.
  • Support for mapping backend format to simple and complex GML (2.1.2 and 3.1.1) output with Complex Datastore.
  • Increased modularization of codebase for pluggable services.
  • Reprojection in WFS (available on 1.6.x).
  • Extensions to WFS-T to support wiki-style history, attribution, email notifications and rollbacks on geospatial data.
  • Tiling Engine, to cache the tiles like google maps does, working with clients to access them in a standard way.

On Our Radar

As a community focused open source project, GeoServer should not be viewed as a static feature set, but as a rapidly growing platform that can support a variety of needs. The features listed are ideas that have been discussed on the mailing list, that are quite possible with the GeoServer codebase. Soon we will try to put cost estimates on the features, and seek to crystalize development support for them. If funding can be found for these or other interesting features, there are developers available who can take the lead on implementing.

  • Further extend WFS-T for versioning, sandboxes, spatial merges, peer review and enterprise level workflowing.
  • Cross datastore 'joins', ability to serve attributes from one format with geometries stored in another format.
  • Different user access levels, reflected in capabilities documents, so that only users with appropriate permissions can view and/or modify certain layers. Begs a full J2EE security access model, able to support a variety of authentication methods.
  • Ingestion Engine: automatic configuration of new layers, to reduce even further the amount of configuration.
  • JMX controls for GeoServer configuration, and refactor configuration to easily connect to a number of clients, through webdav, and perhaps a RESTful api. Turn into even more of a platform for geospatial applications.
  • Embedded, indexed Spatial Derby or HSQL, using SpatialDBBox, so that GeoServer can have zero configuration for enterprise level transaction support. Likely would implement so uploaded shapefiles are transparently imported and exported into the java db.
  • uDig as a 'studio' application for GeoServer, configuring layers and styles there, able to export a GeoServer configuration file.
  • Embed GeoServer in uDig, so that uDig itself can serve as a micro WFS/WMS on intranets, allowing others to connect and directly view and modify the user's maps.
  • Support for emerging OGC specs like Feature Portrayal Service (FPS)
  • Integration with GeoNetwork Open Source, so that metadata and connections need only be configured once, Geonetwork would automatically link to GeoServer layers, and GS would be able to get its service metadata from the Geonetwork server. There are ideas to have GeoNetowrk to serve as a common configuration server for both MapServer and GeoServer.
  • Support for a common open source configuration file format, likely based on the Web Map Context specification, that could be shared between various open source map servers.
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