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Support for Google Spreadsheets, PostgreSQL and KML as thematic data source; log-in in Google Spreadsheets; usage of ion and Bing access token; KML visualization; and more

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@Son-HNguyen Son-HNguyen released this 07 Aug 12:49
· 18 commits to master since this release

Release v1.9.0 demo link

IMPORTANT CHANGES
  • Google Fusion Tables will be unavailable after Dec 3, 2019. It is recommended to backup thematic data stored in such tables locally/offline or using alternative cloud services. Please refer to Google announcements for more information.

  • In this context, besides Google Fusion Tables, the Web Client is now additionally capable of fetching data using Google Sheets API v4 and a PostgreSQL database with a RESTful API enabled (PostgREST). Like with Google Fusion Tables, data fetched from Google Sheets API and PostgREST can also be displayed on the infobox as thematic data when a city object is clicked. Simply enter the URL to corresponding tables in the thematicDataUrl field as well as the type of thematic data source in > Thematic Data Source field in Show / Hide Toolbox -> Add / Configure Layer. This could be:

    • The spreadsheet URL using Google Sheets API, e.g. with the following structure https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/<spreadsheet_id>
    • The table URL published by the PostgreSQL REST API, e.g. https://example.com:3000/<table_name>
  • In addition to the two new supported data sources, it is now also possible to choose their tableType between All object attributes in one row (horizontal) and One row per object attribute (vertical). The selected table type are encoded in URLs generated by Generate Scene Link as well as parsing project URLs, see 05e692d, where:

    • Horizontal: all object attributes are stored in columns of one single row, which means each ID occurs only once in the table.

      Note: The thematic data must be stored in the first sheet of the spreadsheet. The first column of this sheet must be called gmlid or GMLID.

      Example:

      gmlid attribute1 attribute2 attribute3 attribute4
      gmlid1 value1 value2 value3 value4
      gmlid2 value1 value2 value3 value4
    • Vertical: each object attribute is stored in one row consisting of three columns ID, Attribute and Value, which means an ID may occur in multiple rows in the table.

      Note: A vertical table must contain exactly 3 columns in this exact order: gmlid, attribute and value.

      Example:

      gmlid attribute value
      gmlid1 attribute1 value1
      gmlid1 attribute2 value2
      gmlid1 attribute3 value3
      gmlid1 attribute4 value4
      gmlid2 attribute1 value1
      gmlid2 attribute2 value2
      gmlid2 attribute3 value3
      gmlid2 attribute4 value4
    • The response from PostgREST service is encoded in JSON with the following structure:
      Both the horizontal and vertical mode consist of an array of records marked by the [ ... ].
      Each record represents a line in the table, where:

      • Each record in vertical mode only has exactly 3 elements: gmlid, attribute name and attribute value. The gmlids here can be duplicated in other records, but the combination of the first two columns must be unique.

        [
           { "gmlid" : "id1", "attribute" : "value_name", "value" : "value" },
           { "gmlid" : "id2", "attribute" : "value_name", "value" : "value" },
           ...
        ]
        
      • On the other hand, each record in the horizontal mode can have more than 2 elements, but the first one must always be gmlid and this must be unique for each record.

NEW
  • Added own parser for thematic SchemaData (see 1e78886) besides simple Data in KML covered in v1.8.3:

    • An example of a KML document with thematic SchemaData:
    ...
    <Placemark>
      ...
      <ExtendedData>
        <SchemaData schemaUrl="#some_schema">
            <SimpleData name="A">Text</SimpleData>
            <SimpleData name="B">Text</SimpleData>
        </SchemaData>
      </ExtendedData>
    </Placemark>  
    • Note that the parser will not check the structural validity of the used SchemaData. This should be ensured by the provider.

    • The thematic data are found using the IDs of the placemarks in the KML file. If the placemarks do not have IDs, their name will be used for lookup instead, see 95b5086.

  • URLs in the thematic info table (when an object has been clicked) are now clickable, see dab83ee and 3dc8d33.

  • Added support for retrieving and displaying thematic datasource from KML documents themselves (see d0e82ad). Note that:

    • The option > Thematic Data Source in the main toolbox must be set to KML documents;
    • If Cesium is used to retrieve thematic data from KML documents, only Data of ExtendedData is allowed. SchemaData or custom data are simply ignored by Cesium, see here;
    • An example of a KML document with thematic data:
    ...
    <Placemark>
      ...
      <ExtendedData>
         <Data name="dataName">
            <displayName></displayName>
            <value></value>
         </Data>
      </ExtendedData>
    </Placemark>  
    • If the Data elements do not have displayName, the attribute name shall be used as label instead.
  • Added support for loading KML/COLLADA/glTF layers via proxy (see c736ba7 and 4894ca4):

    • This can be toggled in the main toolbox while adding new layer;
    • This shall be stored in the shared URLs as parameter layerProxy=<true|false>;
    • For backward compatibility, shared URLs without this parameter shall receive the default value false.
    • It is not recommended to load large datasets via proxy, e.g. Cesium 3D Tiles;
    • Proxy only works for web client hosted in one of the following domains: http(s)://(www.)3dcitydb.[org|net|de];
    • Users have to ensure the resource URL and the web client's URL have the same protocol HTTP/HTTPS.
  • Added support for clamping KML models to ground (see c736ba7 and f64372c):

    • This can be toggled in the main toolbox while adding new layer;
    • This shall be stored in the shared URLs as parameter layerClampToGround=<true|false>;
    • For backward compatibility, shared URLs without this parameter shall receive the default value true.
  • It is now possible to access own private/non-public Google Spreadsheets using OAuth, see 082145c. The following steps explain how to enable OAuth for your project and use it in the Web Client (this is not the requirement of the web client, but rather a standard procedure when using OAuth):

    1. Make sure you really have read/write access to the table;
    2. Register your project using Google Developer Console;
    3. Search and activate Google Sheets API for your project;
    4. Create and copy your client ID from the credentials page;
    5. Insert the trusted redirect URIs,
      or the URIs in which the web client is running. For example if you are using the latest web client from our 3DCityDB server,
      then you should insert the following URI:
      https://www.3dcitydb.org/3dcitydb-web-map/latest/3dwebclient/index.html
    6. Paste your client ID in the web client's URL using the parameter googleClientId, such as
      https://www.3dcitydb.org/3dcitydb-web-map/latest/3dwebclient/index.html?googleClientId=<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>
      • You can then log into Google by clicking the button marked with a key symbol, which can be found in the top right area of the screen;
      • When logged in, you can click the button again to log out;
      • If the parameter googleClientId does not exist in the client URL, then this button shall not be displayed (backward compatible to earlier versions of the web client).
    7. (Optional) You can share your project as usual by clicking the button Generate Scene Link. You need to stay logged in to attach your client ID in the project share link. If you wish to not include your client ID in the project share link, then simply log out beforehand, see bd99b17.
  • The web client now supports both .gltf and binary .glb files. It automatically detects for each individual object whether a .gltf or a .glb is present and visualize accordingly, i.e. the web client can visualize a list of files mixed with .gltf and .glb, see 737b4a0.

CHANGES
  • The SplashController has been refactored to be a separate class for modular use (see e7a5a74).

  • Added a URL controller to export and parse project URLs (see ff07d0c and f076322):

    • The URL parameters and its values are now kept compact;
    • For the list of the abbreviations used for the URL parameters, please refer to this list:
    • Backwards compatibility is enabled to also parse URLs generated from older versions;
    • To convert older URLs to newer ones, simply open them using the newest version of the 3DCityDB Web Map Client and then export the scene link again.
  • Added support for thematicDataSource in URLs generated by Generate Scene Link as well as parsing project URLs, see85afb36.

FIXES
  • Fixed handling of ion and Bing token (see 52aa4f9):

    • An ion access token is required for the Cesium World Terrain, please refer to Cesium to acquire this access token.
    • A Bing access token is required for all Bing Maps, please refer to Microsoft to acquire this access token.
    • Both the tokens can be inserted in the project URL using the following parameters
      • &ionToken=<your_token> (or short &it=<your_token>) for the Cesium World Terrain
      • &bingToken=<your_token> (or short &bt=<your_token>) for all Bing Maps
    • NOTE: Cesium ion uses Bing Imagery by default, which means you do not need to provide a Bing access token if an ion access token is already available. On the other hand, a Bing access token alone does not suffice. It requires an ion access token additionally.
  • Fixed loading data sources when table type (vertical/horizontal) has been changed, see 670c4c5.

  • Fixed loading options of data sources, see df2c1f2.

  • Fixed a bug that prevented loading of Cesium 3D Tiles, see 9966228.

  • Fixed a bug that prevented calendar flatpickr from displaying correctly, see 942d9f1.

  • Fixed querying data sources from multiple layers, see 69fce7b.

  • Fixed loading of thematic data sources in Cesium 3D Tiles, see 08bc00d.

  • Fixed a bug that prevented Geocoder to function properly on defined active layers, see 0e60059.