Discussion Today’s tip came to me after I was trying to link some tables into my database, from another database. What I saw in that database looked something like this: ce410ap sf200xp jj310fe Repeat this for a couple of hundred tables. This structure, I feel, is a holdover from the old days of taking a database and normalizing it to …
Tip of the Day – Create layer definition files of standard layers for reuse and consistency
Discussion If you are like me, and if so, I apologize and sympathize, then you probably have a few layers that you use all the time. These are likely part of your base layer set that you include in most of your maps. For me, these include parcels, roads, the city boundary, and aerial photos. WHen I include these layers, …
Tip of the Day – Use only the data layers you need to make your point
Today’s Tip Use only the data layers you need to make your point Discussion This tip arises as a way of fighting the shiny object syndrome. You know how it goes, you get a new data layer, or new aerial photos, and you want to include them in everything. So, you do, whether they should be there or not. I’m …
Tip of the Day – Keep focus on map data by perfecting map layout
Today’s Tip Keep focus on data by attending to details of border and map layout. Discussion Today’s tip comes out of an experience I had with our city manager. He stopped by to ask me to create a map for him, then asked if he could stick around and watch me while I did. Once I verified that I had …
Tip of the Day – Use a strict directory structure for file-based data
Today’s Tip Define and stick with logical directory structure for file-based data Discussion In every mapping related job I’ve worked, one issue that always arises is data management. Unless you have a spatial database implemented already, the likelihood is that the majority of your data is in some file-based format. Heck, even if you have a spatial database, you are …
Tip of the Day – Create indexes for all spatial and attribute tables
Today’s Tip Create indexes for all spatial and attribute tables Discussion Today’s tip arises as a result of setting up layers using a Foreign Data Wrapper in Postgres. The layers were initially loading quite slowly, and I realized that I had not added a UniqueID, which I mentioned in TOTD 002, or any sort of an index. Before we get …
Tip of the Day – Ensure you have a Unique Identifier for each table in your database
Today’s Tip Ensure that you have a unique identifier attribute for each table in your database Discussion This is another tip that arises from me doing a task, and realizing I forgot something critical. In this case, the task involved creating a table, trying to perform an operation on said table, and encountering an error or limitation due to a …
Tip of the Day: Consult subject matter experts before removing existing attributes
It begins Welcome to the first “Tip of the Day” on Get Spatial. This series will be used to capture particular events that stick out at me during the course of a workday. These tips could range from map design to database development, or data conversion to business practices. Each tip will be presented and then followed with more detailed …