W3C

– DRAFT –
(MEETING TITLE)

07 January 2021

Attendees

Present
Chris, Christine, Clara, ClemensPortele, Joost, jtandy, Linda, Peter, RobS, Ted
Regrets
Bill, Scott
Chair
Jeremy, Linda
Scribe
ted

Meeting minutes

Tile Zoom Level

Peter: it is important for MapML to have coordinate and tile matrix sets together
… EGSP data set is separate from the notion of scale. whenever GIS data is used, scale is vital for visual representation on map
… it would be convenient if the coordinate system recommendation had concept of scaling
… having scales or resolutions recommended would be helpful for consumption
… web feature service without notion of scale you get highest resolution possible which may not be appropriate for certain uses

Chris: I raised that with OGC API for tiles. they have been focused on styles etc

<ClemensPortele> Chris, this is not a tiles issue, its a maps issue

Chris: I am trying to get them to revisit
… it is desireable to request tiles at a given scale that is device capability compatible
… in short, I agree with you

Peter: as I mentioned in my email, the standardized definition probably dates back to GIS era when you typically already had local to desktop/workstation the different scaled resources

Peter's email

Jeremy: coordinate reference system is needed as well as scale as you called it
… I think it was in Clemens' email that we should not bind these too closely together
… you cite the WFS work and want these concepts combined

Clemens' email

Clemens: I think the CRS come from survey era which predates GIS

<ChrisLittle> present ChrisLittle

Clemens: these are reference systems and don't need a scale but provide eg limited accuracy
… CRS don't really have a scale component to them
… at some scale or zoom level, certain features or information should be suppressed
… for tiling, each is at a certain zoom level and hierarchy is defined with accompanying OGC standards
… scale or zoom level is supported in many APIs
… we have a call for review on work items. we are focusing on geometry simplification
… welcome proposals for handling feature/scale relationship
… this can also be addressed in Best Practices revision

Peter: some WFS do support scale/zoom as a parameter
… some features are either too small or big
… how you model your data need to take into consideration having feature disappear at a certain scale for instance
… data modeler needs to know the recommended scales. we can use inheritance model

<Zakim> jtandy, you wanted to ask PR to describe what he can't do with today's APIs

Jeremy: if I'm using a coordinate reference system, what you're saying is there should be a set of zoom scales that are recommended for use with that particular CRS

Peter: correct

Jeremy: for a given municipality, the data is limited and others at eg a county zoom level
… is the choice of CRS coupled to choice of zoom scale or zoom scale to application you are trying to support?

Peter: good question
… agree there could be scale recommendations from town level in British National Grid

<cboyd> You did a better job than I could Jeremy

Jeremy: you are positing there are a number of data providers and with scaling we can overlay them reasonably well

Peter: I'm unaware of ETRS89 but guess you would have to reproject data for combining

Jeremy: a consistent set of zoom levels would be preferable across different data providers then?

Peter: yes

Jeremy: if I have a list of zoom levels somewhere, would that help?
… encouraging people to publish data at specific zoom levels?

Clemens: I think we are the wrong group of people to raise that. we should discuss with CRS
… they have a concept of scope
… there are regionally appropriate systems, eg the British National Grid isn't as useful in Germany
… I don't think it is a CRS issue. if anything gets added to its definition, it should come from CRS group

Peter: fair enough

Jeremy: as a data publisher, you have control over the server and should have additional meta data available

Clemens: you can unlimited zoom detail but then reasonably depending on data you may restrict information to specific zoom level
… this is a conscious decision already being used

Jeremy: zoom level already expressed in that case?

Clemens: Google's tiling scheme that is widely used
… OGC doesn't call it zoom level but tile metrics which isn't immediately intuitive

Jeremy: agree. anyone wanting to publish with web mercator (sp? google's tile scheme) can include level

Clemens: the zoom level from their tiling scheme differs from others with their own conventions
… how do we express zoom level?

https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/coordinates

Jeremy: how do we combine data from different schemes and data providers?
… a list of scales coupled to CRS is one way, another by an algorithm from Web Features standard

Clemens: the scale range you want to support when you publish your feature data is not dependent on CRS

Jeremy: we are not trying to line up pixelated tiles

Chris: I want to respond to an earlier comment of Clemens'
… what sort of device am I using and what do I want to see on it
… cluttering/decluttering is a decision of the client application and zoom level mucks that up
… Clemens wants to simplify geometry from a set of features. that is separate from a filtering aspect

<jtandy> (I guess the ultimate geometry simplification is down to a point ... and then client applications could determine how to deal with situations where many point features are too close together?)

Clemens: from features API perspective, if feature shown as a certain zoom level is part of it
… at some zoom level or scale you would simply show a point. you would not return certain features at a given scale level
… adjacent polygons with attributes can be returned as you zoom out
… filtering features and getting them ready is server side, combining is post processing

Jeremy: at simplest scale a geometry can be a single point and it is still related to a set of features

Clemens: correct but dependent on zoom level, point could be an airport but when you zoom in have more detail
… if you zoom out to a certain level you would want to only present certain, larger airports and suppress others
… this filtering requires extra knowledge and there is a question if we should even do this

Linda: I am trying to relate to SDWBP
… it is only partially related and the rest about visualization and user interaction

Clemens: it is related to the convenience API
… you need to think about how people want to interact with your data. we already have text along these lines we might want to expand
… how to make data more usable. you may want to return different data if it is to be used for mapping for instance

Peter: would it be convenient to have recommended scale sets attached to CRS for those who want to make a feature service
… you know you are going to have to generated tiled features
… this is why I am suggesting/asking for advice
… sounds like we should discuss with CRS group

Clemens: not sure it is the right thing. scale depends on the data not on the CRS
… still could be worth discussing with that group to get their opinion

Jeremy: how you want to present data is often closely related to type of application[s] you want to support

<ChrisLittle> +1 to clemens - data linked not CRS

<RobSmith> +1

Jeremy: do we want to engage the CRS folks?
… Peter you want us to put you in touch with them?

Peter: sure and can bring back here response

[Clemens provides suggestion on specific OGC group and individual to contact]

Peter: I have corresponded with Roger before, comfortable talking with him directly and will report back

Jeremy: any other topics for today?

Linda: Responsible Use Note
… believe we are ready to publish

Ted: @@Ed, timing

RobS: we want to get feedback on this Note, not meant to be a finished work yet which is what prompted wanting to get it published soon

<Zakim> brinkwoman, you wanted to ask if there's progress to report on the BP

Linda: wonder if we have updates on BP work?

Clara: we are still working through it and was delayed in lead up to holiday break
… still seeking input and welcome contributions

Linda: I can try to find someone at Geonovum
… Christine, you want to follow up on WoT?

Christine: indeed, want to focus discussion on discovery and scheduling with Michael McCool
… will let people know timing if interested. want to combine with Augmented Reality, how do you discover sensors and data available from an AR client including someday a browser

Jeremy: if you have date/time for AR and WoT that would be handy

Christine: 19 January at 11EDT
… anyone interested, let me know and I can add you

<jtandy> WoT meeting: Tue 19th Jan, 11AM Eastern

Linda: anyone else have new years regrets or resolutions?

<RobSmith> https://w3c.github.io/sdw/proposals/geotagging/webvmt/#virtualguide

RobS: I sketched out a WoT use case related to WebVMT

Christine: I appreciate that Rob. we are not limiting the discussion to AR

RobS: understood and appreciated

Peter: forgot to ask if ok to make an issue in SDW repo?

<cperey> Thank you!

Linda: yes and please link to the email discussion [and minutes]

Minutes manually created (not a transcript), formatted by scribe.perl version 127 (Wed Dec 30 17:39:58 2020 UTC).