{{Short description|Web mapping application development tool}} {{Infobox software | name = MapServer | title = | logo = MapServer.png | screenshot = | caption = | collapsible = | author = | developer = Steve Lime originally, now a project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation foundation | released = {{Start date|1994}} | latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|P348|P548=Q2804309}} | latest release date = {{Start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}|df=yes}} | programming language = C / C++ | operating system = | platform = Cross-platform | size = | language = | status = | genre = GIS software (compare) | license = X/MIT | website = [https://mapserver.org/ mapserver.org] }}
'''MapServer''' is an open-source development environment for building spatially enabled internet applications, built in the C language, and is widely known as one of the fastest Web mapping engines available{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}}. It can run as a CGI program or via MapScript which supports several programming languages (using SWIG). MapServer can access hundreds of data formats, any raster or vector format supported by GDAL, and reprojections on-the-fly are handled by PROJ. MapServer was originally developed by Steve Lime, then working at the University of Minnesota — so, it was previously referred to as "''UMN MapServer''", to distinguish it from commercial "map servers"; today it is commonly referred to as just "MapServer", and is maintained by the MapServer Project Steering Committee (PSC). MapServer was originally developed with support from NASA, which needed a way to make its satellite imagery available to the public.<ref>{{cite news |title=Minnesota's MapServer flourishes in hot Web-based mapping sector |author=Ojeda-Zapata, Julio |publisher=Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minnesota) |date=June 17, 2005}}</ref>
==Open Source Geospatial Foundation== In November 2005, Autodesk, the MapServer Technical Steering Committee Members, the University of Minnesota, and DM Solutions Group announced the creation of the MapServer Foundation.<ref name="schutzberg">{{cite news |url=http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2037&trv=1 |title=MapServer Community, Autodesk Announce MapServer Foundation |author=Schutzberg, Adena |publisher=directionsmag.org |date=November 28, 2005 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204010704/http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2037&trv=1 |archivedate=February 4, 2007 }}</ref> With this announcement, Autodesk announced that its internet mapping application, MapGuide, would be developed as an open source application with all new code and be named "MapServer Enterprise".<ref name="schutzberg"/> The existing MapServer application would be renamed "MapServer Cheetah".<ref name="schutzberg"/> This name change was overwhelmingly opposed by the MapServer community.<ref name="grimes">{{cite news |url=http://www.gcn.com/print/25_10/40589-1.html |title=What's in an open-source name? |author=Grimes, Brad and Joab Jackson |publisher=Government Computer News |date=May 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112112815/http://www.gcn.com/print/25_10/40589-1.html |archivedate=November 12, 2006 }}</ref> Autodesk then backed off this name change and retained the name, "MapGuide" for its product.<ref name="grimes"/> Also, plans to establish the MapServer Foundation were scrapped; Instead, the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) was established in 2006 to include MapServer and other open source GIS projects (which includes MapGuide Open Source).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://mappinghacks.com/2006/02/04/introducing-the-open-source-geospatial-foundation/ |title=Introducing… the Open Source Geospatial Foundation! |date=February 4, 2006 |author=Schuyler Erle |publisher=mappinghacks.com |access-date=January 20, 2007 |archive-date=April 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408123817/http://mappinghacks.com/2006/02/04/introducing-the-open-source-geospatial-foundation/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Timeline == ''MapServer'' has had an important role in Web mapping history. The following is a summary of its evolution:
* 1994: UMN awarded with NASA/ForNet funding to support web-based delivery of forestry data.<ref name="MapServer-hist">[https://trac.osgeo.org/mapserver/wiki/MapServerHistory MapServerHistory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428180828/https://trac.osgeo.org/mapserver/wiki/MapServerHistory |date=2023-04-28 }}</ref> * 1997-07: MapServer 1.0, Developed as Part of the NASA ForNet Project. Grew out of the need to deliver remote sensing data across the web for foresters. * 1998-07: MapServer 2.0 released as final ForNET deliverable; added reprojection support (PROJ.4). * 1999: UMN makes MapServer an open source project.<ref name="MapServer-hist"/> * 2000-06: MapServer 3.0 was developed as part of the NASA TerraSIP Project. This is also the first public, open source release of ''UMN MapServer''.<ref>[http://terrasip.gis.umn.edu/ TerraSIP] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209010700/http://terrasip.gis.umn.edu/ |date=2007-02-09 }}</ref> * 2001-06: MapServer 3.2 released with MapScript 1.0, like CSS, adds layout flexibility. * 2002-06: MapServer 3.5 was rewritten,<ref>{{Cite web| title=UMN MapServer - Past, Present and Future | format=PPT | url=http://www.dei.isep.ipp.pt/~matos/cadeiras/pjac/sig/oss/lime_plenary.ppt | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702060045/http://www.dei.isep.ipp.pt/~matos/cadeiras/pjac/sig/oss/lime_plenary.ppt | archive-date=2007-07-02}}</ref> and added support for PostGIS and ArcSDE. Version 3.6 adds initial OGC WMS support. * 2003-07: MapServer 4.0, adds 24bit raster output support and support for SWF. * 2004-05: MapServer 4.2, adds support for SLD. * 2004-11: MapServer 4.4, adds WCS support, FastCGI support, and i18n encoding for map labels. * 2005-04: MapServer 4.6, adds support for SVG. * 2007-09: MapServer 5.0 released, introducing Anti-Grain Geometry (AGG) graphics library. * 2008-07: MapServer 5.2 released, adds WCS 1.1.x support, and native Microsoft SQL Server 2008 support. * 2009-04: MapServer 5.4 released, adds OGC WMS 1.3.0 support. * 2009-12: MapServer 5.6 released, adds support for XML mapfiles. * 2011-05: MapServer 6.0 released, adds support for opengl & KML output, and built-in OpenLayers map viewer. * 2012-11: MapServer 6.2 released, adds support for INSPIRE services. Released along TinyOWS and MapCache. * 2013-09: MapServer 6.4 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/6-4.html|title=6.4 Announcement — MapServer 8.0.1 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds CMake support, contour rendering, layer geometry transformations. * 2015-07: MapServer 7.0 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/7-0.html|title=Version 7.0.0 Announcement — MapServer 8.0.1 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds heatmap layers, WFS 2.0 support, and layer-level character encoding. * 2018-07: MapServer 7.2 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/7-2.html|title=Version 7.2.0 Announcement — MapServer 8.0.1 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds MVT support, support for multi-line comments in the mapfile, and Python 3 support for MapScript. * 2019-05: MapServer 7.4 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/7-4.html|title=Version 7.4.0 Announcement — MapServer 8.0.1 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds PHP 7 MapScript support through SWIG, and initial PROJ 6 API support. * 2020-05: MapServer 7.6 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/7-6.html|title=Version 7.6.0 Announcement — MapServer 8.0.1 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds full support for PROJ 6 API, adds connection options in mapfile, and special character support in mapfiles on Windows. * 2022-09: MapServer 8.0 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/8-0.html|title=Version 8.0.0 Announcement — MapServer 8.0.1 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds native FlatGeobuf support, OGCAPI: Features support, new config file for MapServer, and PHP native MapScript removed, in place of PHPNG MapScript (through SWIG). * 2024-07: MapServer 8.2 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/8-2.html|title=Version 8.2.0 Announcement — MapServer 8.2.0 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds OGC API Features support, GitHub repository restructuring, and secures regex validation. * 2025-01: MapServer 8.4 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/8-4.html|title=Version 8.4.0 Announcement — MapServer 8.4.0 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds build support for PCRE2 library, new COMPOSITE.COMPOP blending operations, and CONNECTIONTYPE RASTERLABEL. * 2025-12: MapServer 8.6 released,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapserver.org/development/announce/8-6.html|title=Version 8.6.0 Announcement — MapServer 8.6.0 documentation|website=mapserver.org}}</ref> adds automatically generated index page to deployments, allow additional query parameters for OGCAPI: Features.
== See also == {{Portal|Free and open-source software}} *GeoServer - an open-source server written in Java *Mapnik - Open source mapping toolkit for desktop and server map rendering *TopoQuest - Topographic map viewer using the technology * Felt (GIS company) - Cloud-native mapping GIS platform
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|https://mapserver.org/}}
Category:Free GIS software Category:University of Minnesota software Category:Software using the MIT license