Concepts and Methods of Embedding Statistical Data into Maps

International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 8, Issue 5, May 2018 21
ISSN 2250-3153
http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.8.5.2018.p7706 www.ijsrp.org
Concepts and Methods of Embedding Statistical Data
into Maps
Mohammad Liton Hossain*
, Dr.-Ing. Holger Meyer**
*
Computational Science and Engineering, University of Rostock, Germany
**Faculty of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Rostock, Germany
DOI: 10.29322/IJSRP.8.5.2018.p7706
http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.8.5.2018.p7706
Abstract- The main focus of this study is to find appropriate and
stable solutions for representing the statistical data into map with
some special features. This research also includes the comparison
between different solutions for specific features. In this research I
have found three solutions using three different technologies
namely Oracle MapViewer, QGIS and AnyMap which are
different solutions with different specialties. Each solution has its
own specialty so we can choose any solution for representing the
statistical data into maps depending on our criteria’s.
Index Terms- API, GIS, JDBC, NSDP, Oracle MapViewer,
I. INTRODUCTION
A map is a very powerful way to present data. It is much
more intuitive than presenting the same data in the form of
coordinates or text. Using the functionalities of spatial databases,
along with other Middleware tools, such spatial applications can
be developed that is capable to represent the statistical data into
maps in various ways. In this research work a spatial application
of a specific country will be designed and developed and it will
show statistical data on the map (Bar chart, Pie chart etc.) and
also it will show the five different layers of addresses (District,
county, sub-county, parish and villages) along with other
features. We need to find out some useful and stable solutions for
embedding statistical data into maps and Compare the solutions
with specific features and finally implement the appropriate
solution for the specific country.
II. OVERVIEW OF DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES
A. Oracle MapViewer
Oracle MapViewer is a very powerful and specialized tool for
rendering maps using spatial data managed by Oracle Spatial and
Graph or Oracle Locator (also referred to as
Locator).MapViewer offers tools that hide the difficulty of
spatial data queries and cartographic rendering. It can also deploy
in any Java EE container such as web logic server or glass fish or
Tomcat [1].
The prime benefit of MapViewer is its incorporation with Oracle
Spatial and Graph, Oracle Locator, and Oracle Fusion
Middleware. MapViewer cares two-dimensional vector
geometries stored in Oracle Spatial and Graph, as well as
GeoRaster data and data in the Oracle Spatial and Graph
topology and network data models. Oracle MapViewer is also an
Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)-compliant web map service
(WMS) and web map tile service (WMTS) server [1].
Figure 1: Basic flow of action in MapViewer [2]
• A Map rendering engine running in Oracle application
server: The rendering engine is visible as a servlet that
processes requests sent by client demands, draws the
proper data from spatial tables, and builds maps in a
variety of graphical formats (GIF,PNG, JPEG, or SVG),
which it then returns to the asking client. In addition to
the core mapping servlet, the Mapviewer server also
delivers a map cache server and a feature-of-interest
(FOI) server [3].
• Metadata Definitions: The Map definitions/ Metadata
are stored in the database. This is the place where we
can describe our map such as which table to use, how
maps should be rendered (Themes, Styles etc.) [3].
• Oracle Maps Application Programming Interfaces
(APIs): These APIs allow us to retrieve mapviewer
features from many different application development
environments. These APIs contain XML, Java, PL/SQL
and JavaScript (AJAX) interfaces. The Java API also
comprises JavaServer Pages (JSP) to ease the insertion
of maps in JSP [3].
• Map Builder Tool: A map builder is a standalone
program through which we are able to manage our
metadata stored in the database [3].

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Oracle MapViewer is a part of Oracle Fusion Middleware.
Oracle MapViewer is a complete package for map rendering and
display statistical data on the map. The main benefit of Oracle
MapViewer is that it can be used both as online as well as
offline, because it has a suite of Application Programming
Interfaces (API’s) and Oracle Map. Map builder tool is another
excellent component of Oracle MapViewer which makes it easy
to manage metadata (define styles, themes, base maps) in a
spatial database. We can display statistical data in a various way
from MapViewer. From map builder tool we can define different
advanced styles (Bar chart, Pie chart, Bucket, Heat maps) and
themes associated with those styles and then render them as a
vector layer on the map. We do not need to depend on other
service provider for map rendering because Oracle MapViewer
has Oracle Map, which served cached map image tiles to the
client. MapViewer provides a nice platform where we can easily
define our own map rendering styles, themes etc. using map
builder. Oracle MapViewer is not a commercial solution, so that
we can use it without any cost.
B. QGIS
QGIS is a software program with a graphical user interface to
deploy the functionalities of Geographical Information System
(GIS). The QGIS application provides several tools to provide an
easy way to display map layers, map legends and so on. QGIS
application is free cost tool to work with geospatial data and
visualized the geospatial data according to our own requirements.
Through QGIS application we are able to work with various
spatial databases and display statistical data from database on the
map. QGIS can load vector data from different data sources and
also from shape files.
Figure 2: QGIS user interface
Geographical Information System (GIS):
Geographical Information System (GIS) is becoming an
increasingly important tool in environmental management, retail,
military, police, tourism and many other spheres of our daily
lives [4]. GIS is more than just software, and it refers to all
aspects of managing and using digital geographical data. A
common feature of GIS is that they allow us to associate
information (non-geographical data) with places (geographical
data) [5]. GIS Systems work with many different types of
data. Vector data is stored as a series of x,y coordinate pairs
inside the computer’s memory and Raster data are stored as a
grid of values [5].
A GIS consists of:
• Digital Data –– the geographical information that we
will view and analyzed using computer hardware and
software [5].
• Computer Hardware –– computers used for storing data,
displaying graphics and processing data [5].
• Computer Software –– computer programs that run on
the computer hardware and allow us to work with
digital data. A software program that forms part of the
GIS is called a GIS Application [5].
With QGIS we can use separate shape file to produce vector
layers or we can access different spatial databases like PostGIS,
SpatiaLite and MS SQL Spatial, Oracle Spatial etc. So it is a
database independent solution for our case. We can add different
layers for zooming capability with statistical data for each layer.
If data is changed in the database then it will depicted within a
few seconds in the QGIS browser. QGIS can be used as a WMS,
WMTS, WMS-C or WFS and WFS-T client, and as a WMS,
WCS or WFS server.
C. AnyMap
AnyMap is a powerful product from AnyChart. AnyChart is a
flexible JavaScript (HTML5) based solution that allows
developers to embed interactive and great looking charts and
dashboards into any web, standalone or mobile project [6].
Whether we need to improve our website with better reporting,
embed dashboards into our on-premises and SaaS systems, or
build an entire new product, AnyChart covers all data
visualization needs. AnyMap is a very useful tool for side-by-
side reporting [6].
Figure 3: A simple Map Using AnyMap
We can use it online or offline. To use AnyMap we need to have
JavaScript file for each geographical location that we are
targeting to display on the map. We can also use JSON file. This
method is dependent to the AnyChart map data. The zoom in -
zoom out feature is obtain by drilldown map otherwise it is a
single layer representation with other features e.g. tooltips,
different types of charts etc. When we change anything in the
database then the change will not directly depict on the map
because the maps are rendered from JavaScript or JSON source
which needs to be updated when we have made any changes in
the database. To visualize the data for a specific location from
database we need to create JavaScript or JSON data file for that
specific location. AnyMap is not a database dependent
technology and it is a specialized tool for chart representations of
statistical data.

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III. SOLUTIONS FOR EMBEDDING STATISTICAL DATA
A. Embedding and Evaluating Statistical Data into Map using
Oracle MapViewer
To use Oracle MapViewer we have used glassfish server for
quick installation and use the pre deployed MapViewer and
mvdemo data. For map rendering we need to create styles,
themes and base maps using map builder which is used to define
Meta data into database. In this solution we do not need to
depend on third party map provider i.e. we can depend on our
own data and also we can work offline as well as including our
statistical data into map along with different features.
A work flow that we have used here is given bellow:
Figure 4: Work flow of MapViewer implementation
To evaluate Oracle MapViewer with our requirements we will
use the data set for and also use statistical data for USA states,
cities. As we have prepared data and configured MapViewer,
now we can use MapViewer to explore some key features from
our requirements:
Display Map with Bar Chart
To represent statistical data as Bar Chart into map I have used
Non-Spatial Data Provider (NSDP) mechanism to join the results
of a database query (i.e. a JDBC vector layer) with content in an
xml document and display it.
Figure 5: Visualization of statistical data using NSDP mechanism
Display map with variable Buckets
To display the variable buckets i.e. different county colors based
on the total population of that county we need to create an
advanced style (variable buckets) from map builder and then
assign that style to a theme and then we can use it as a predefined
vector layer.
Figure 6: Visualization of static data with variable range bucket
Reflecting the metadata changes into the map
The tile layers that we have created using map viewer admin
console those tile layers are managed by the map tile server
which is a part of Oracle MapViewer. When a client is requesting
for a map then map tile server fetches the requested tile image
and store them and returns to the client.
Oracle maps have three dissimilar choices for storage the map
image tiles [7]:
• Store the tiles using the local file system
• Store the tiles in a database table. (currently not used)
• Stream the tiles directly without caching
I have used Stream without caching and it’s simply solved the
update problems. That means if we change anything in the
underlying database or metadata (Themes, base maps) then the
change will be depicted in a minute.To do this task, we need to
set the persistent_tiles attribute false in MapViewer while
creating a new tile layer. After making the tile layer as stream
without caching, now if we change anything in the database that
related with this tile, the change will be depicted.
Download Oracle Mapviewer Quick
start Kit with glassfish container
Install the glassfish server which has
mapviewer and mvdemo pre-deployed
on it
Configure the mapviewer according to
the mapviewer user’s guide
Download and import the mvdemo data
for demo examples
Run the mapviewer and mvdemo and
play around with examples
Load the shp file of Uganda map using
map builder
Define metadata (Styles, Themes, Base
maps) using Map builder
Display the map using mapviewer admin
console or using HTML5 to display the
map

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Figure 7: After changing the state abbreviation
B. Embedding and Evaluating Statistical Data into Map using
QGIS
To deploy our requirements with QGIS application we will
follow the work flow diagram as bellow:
Figure 8: Work flow of QGIS implementation
Web map using qgis2web plugin
Qgis2web generates a web map from our current QGIS project so
we can publish our project as a web map using qgis2web plugin.
To publish a the layers as a web map we need to navigate:
Save current project click web menu
select qgis2web menu
select Create web mapselect the necessary properties from the
following wizard select update preview 
select export
When we have completed export successfully then the exported
map is saved in the default location.
Figure 9: A web map using qgis2web plugin
Create a package to convert SDO_GEOMETRY into
GEOJSON
So far we did not use any QGIS server or geoserver, we just
simply create the map and used qgis2web plugin to published the
map.qgis2web plugin create a folder and store all resources to
generate the map separately so that this folder is isolated from
QGIS and we can use that folder anywhere and run the html file
to access the map. So if we change any data in the database then
the change will not take effect until we create a new web map
using qgis2web plugin manually. But one of our main
requirements is to update the map automatically after any
changes in the backend database. We have three JavaScript files
which contain GEOJSON data. Our purpose is to update this data
source if any changes happen in the database because we need to
display the statistics data into map which are rendered from these
data source and other rendering resources will remain the
unchanged. To make these things happen we need to build a
package which will be responsible for converting the
SDO_GEOMETRY data into GEOJSON array from database
along with statistical data as properties. To execute the package
we need to run the following files [8]:
SQL>@ora2geojson.pkh
SQL>@ora2geojson.pkb
After running these two files we can make a query to run the
package and get the GEOJSON output from a specific table as
follow [8]:
SELECT ora2geojson.sdo2geojson('select * from states',Rowid,
GEOM) FROM states;
Where ‘states’ is the spatial table or view and GEOM is the name
of the spatial column. The ROWID is needed to collect the
attributes.
The output from the above query is looks like:
Figure 10: GEOJSON output from the package
Downloadin and Installing QGIS
Creating new project and managing data
sources using DB manager
Install the qgis2web plugin using plugins
manager
Add different layers and specify the styles
and other rules for displaying
Create the webmap using qgis2web plugin
Create a package to create the GEOJSON
data from SDO_GEOMETRY
Create a database job that perform the
conversion of SDO_GEOM to GEOJSON
periodically

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C. Embedding and Evaluating Statistical Data into Map using
AnyMap
To deploy our requirements using AnyMap we need to download
AnyChart installation package from
https://www.anychart.com/download/products/ .
We can also use AnyMap without downloading the installation
package. To continue our work we have followed a working flow
diagram as follow:
Figure 11: Work flow of AnyMap implementation
Drilldown Map
To achieve the zooming capability we have to use drilldown map
in AnyMap. In our case we have used statistical data for three
states and visualized them with drilldown capabilities from
AnyMap. To do this we have created two JavaScript file that
contains functions that returns the statistical data for that specific
states and counties.
Figure 11: Different stages of Drilldown Map
Dashboard
To represent the statistical data into map using AnyMap we have
to use dashboard technique which will display statistical data into
map as a chart or combo box. We can achieve the output as
follow [9]:
Figure 12: Dashboard in AnyMap
IV. CONCLUSION
MapViewer is a very powerful and specialized solution for
map rendering from Oracle spatial database with statistical data.
QGIS is another GIS tool to make maps from different spatial
databases or from single shape files with statistical data. AnyMap
is a JavaScript solution to represent the map from data files not
directly connected to the database. To determine the best solution
I have compared every solutions with each other based on
important criteria’s. I have described the comparison details in
table no. I bellow. From the comparison I would like to prefer
that the solution using Oracle MapViewer might be one of the
best solutions depending on the features and special criteria’s.
Compare with Oracle MapViewer the QGIS tool is easier to use
and it’s relatively simple to handle. Oracle MapViewer is a
specialized tool for representing statistical data into map and
works with spatial data. One major disadvantage is that it is not
database independent. More details for each solution is given in
the table I.
Download AnyChart Installation Package
Create Data Sorces
Adding required JavaScript files for display
a map
Using the installed package

ISSN 2250-3153
Table I: Comparison between three solutions based on
important features
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
At first all thanks goes to almighty creator who gives me the
opportunity, patients and energy to complete this study. I would
like to give thanks to Dr.-Ing. Mayer of the Faculty for
Informatics and Electrotechnic at University of Rostock and Mr.
Schippmann of the Mühlbauer ID Services, I have found always
immense support from them to keep my work on the right way.
Their doors were always open for me, when I have got myself in
trouble.
I would also like to give thanks to Ulf who is a professionally
adroit to guide me throughout my work. Without his passionate
participation and input, my research could not have been
successfully conducted.
Finally, I must express my very profound gratefulness to my
parents and to my wife for providing me with constant support
and encouragement during my years of study and through the
process of researching and writing this paper. This
accomplishment would not have been possible without them.
Thank you.
REFERENCES
[1] Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle MapViewer, “Introduction to
MapViewer” available on-line at
https://docs.oracle.com/middleware/1213/core/JIMPV/
vis_start.htm#JIMPV1000
[2] Exploring Spatial, “MapViewer Componenets”, available on-line at
https://exploringspatial.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/is-oracle-mapviewer-a-
fit-for-me/
[3] Ravi Kothuri, Albert Godfrind, Euro Beinat, Defining Maps Using
MapViewer. In: Pro Oracle Spatial for Oracle Database 11g. Apress,
Apress, 2007,
ISBN: 978-1-59059-899-3
[4] A Gentle Introduction to GIS, “Preamble” , available on-line at
https://docs.qgis.org/2.18/en/docs/gentle_gis_introduction/preamble.html
[5] A Gentle Introduction to GIS, “Introducing GIS” , available on-line at
https://docs.qgis.org/2.18/en/docs/gentle_gis_introduction/introducing_gis.html
[6] AnyMap, “Overview”, available on-line at
https://www.anychart.com/products/anymap/overview/
[7] Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle MapViewer, “Map Tile
Server”, available on-line at
https://docs.oracle.com/middleware/1213/core/JIMPV/
vis_omaps.htm#BACJGEFA
[8] Mapoholic, “Convert Oracle Spatial data to geojson”, available on-line at
https://mapoholic.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/convert-oracle-spatial-data-
to-geojson/
[9] AnyMap, “Maps Gallery”, available on-line at
https://www.anychart.com/products/anymap/gallery/Maps_in_Dashboard/St
ates_of_United_States_Dashboard_with_MultiSelect.php
AUTHORS
Author – Mohammad Liton Hossain, M.Sc in Computational
Science and Engineering in University of Rostock, Germany.
Lecturer at Institute of Science and Technology (IST),
Bangladesh. E-mail: litu702@gmail.com
Corresponding Author - Dr.-Ing. Holger Meyer is Chair of
Database and Information Systems at University of Rostock.
E-mail: holger.meyer@uni-rostock.de
Feature’s Mapviewer QGIS AnyMap
Does the solution
depend on other
service providers
(e.g. maps
provider)? Are
there any fees?
No.
No cost
No
No cost
Yes
Depends on
our services
Online or offline Mainly
Offline also
can be used
as online
Offline Offline or
Online
Can I apply
statistics data into
the map?
YES YES YES
Is it possible to
color regions
based on
statistical data of
a map?
YES
Can I zoom into
the map to get
more details (e.g.
borders of sub
counties)?
YES YES YES. Using
drilldown
method
Update the Map
if Meta Data
(Base map,
Themes…) is
changed
Map is
updated
instantly.
Map is
updated
periodically.
Possible to
make it
periodically
Database
independent
No YES YES
Does the solution
support online
access to statistics
databases?
YES YES NO
Specialized for
map rendering?
YES YES YES
Depict charts in
the map
Both Bar and
Pie
YES YES. As
dashboard
Does the solution
fit into the Java
Universe
YES YES YES

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