THE DESIGN OF SCALABLE WEB GIS MICROSERVICE FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

Abstract. As an interdisciplinary integration of GIS theory and network technology, Web GIS is of great significance for the comprehensive development of students’ GIS capability. Therefore, this paper targets undergraduate GIS education and presents a novel approach to designing a scalable Web GIS microservices framework, which consists of three essential components: scalable Web GIS microservices using RESTful APIs, scalable geographic data source provider using PostGIS, and scalable Web mapping and symbolization using JavaScript. In the GIS practice, students are expected to utilize Python, PostGIS, and JavaScript programming languages to develop RESTful microservice APIs, access geographic data, and perform mapping and symbolization using Web browser. Furthermore, they are encouraged to adjust the workload of GIS spatial analysis and algorithms based on the needs of the development environment, and implement different GIS applications. Ultimately, by guiding students to use this framework and participate in GIS practice, the aim of improving their GIS capability is achieved. The experimental results show that through the design and practice of the scalable Web GIS microservices framework, the relevant contents of Web GIS, GIS Software Development, GIS Principle, GIS Algorithm, and GeoDatabase courses are integrated. Students participate in GIS practice in various forms, such as open experiments, innovation projects, and professional competitions, which enhance their GIS capability at the undergraduate level and achieve favorable results.