CartoDB training script

README.md

CartoDB users training

First session: Introduction to CartoDB

Thi session is oriented for unexperienced users on CartoDB. It will also present a short introduction to the platform as well as their main components and principal use cases.

Overview:

• Upload and data management
• Editing and querying data on the platform
• Cartographic symbology and visualizations
• Infowindowns creatino
• Using dynamic filters
• Data synchronization
• Temporal mapping

Contents

• Introduction to CartoDB slides (30 minutes)
• Some use cases. slideshow
• CartoDB for beginners. Course
  • First steps (45m/1h)
    • Create your account
    • Import the dataset called Populated places from the Data Library
    • Your first point map
  • Coropleth map (45m)
    • Importing data from a web address http://acdmy.org/d/counties.zip
    • How sync tables work
    • Difference between a dataset and a map on the CartoDB editor
    • Adding interactivity to your map
      • Infowindws
      • Tooltips
      • Customizing infowindows and tooltips
    • Population coropleth map
      • Absoulte vs. normalized data
      • Quantification tyes (jenks, equal interval, ...)
  • Thematic maps with point data (1h)
    • Import a new dataset from http://acdmy.org/d/tornadoes.zip
    • Changing column types
    • Simple point sybmology
    • How to duplicate a map
    • Bubble map
    • Intensity map
    • Density map
    • Adding labels
    • Filtering data
  • Dynamic maps (45m)
    • Basic Torque: dynimic data column, parameters
    • Accumulated map
    • Category Torque
  • Multi layer map (15m)
    • My result (Jorge)

Other resources:

• CartoDB gallery: https://cartodb.com/gallery/
• Useful tool to get coordinates and bounding boxes: http://bboxfinder.com/
• Manuals and reference documentation:
  • Editor: http://docs.cartodb.com/cartodb-editor.html
  • CartoDB Academy: http://academy.cartodb.com/
  • Tutorials: Tutoriales http://docs.cartodb.com/tutorials.html
• Data sources
  • Natural Earth http://www.naturalearthdata.com/downloads/

SQL used to create categories for the Torque exercise based on tornados damage:

SELECT 
*, 
CASE 
WHEN damage > 7.4 THEN 1
WHEN damage > 0.5 THEN 2
ELSE 3
END damage_cat
FROM tornados order by damage_cat

Second session: Cartography design and Spatial SQL

Training to users with some previous experinece on CartoDB, creating maps from the editor.

Overview

• Advanced data visualization
• CartoCSS
• PostGIS introduction
• Basic PostGIS functions
• Data analysis using PostGIS SQL
• Table editing on CartoDB

Contents

• Map design
  • Resources
    • Guide for map design lesson(interesting read)
    • Earthquake data at http://academy.cartodb.com/d/1.0_month.csv
    • New CartoCSS reference at the Editor manual
  • Exercise 1: about color and composition, lesson
    • Result and details
  • Exercise 2: style based on zoom level, lesson
    • Result and details
  • Exercise 3: labelling, lesson
  • Exercise 4: Cluster map with thematic style: map and details (note the modified SQL)
  • Exercise 5: Building style map
    • Earthquake map, radii related with the magnitude and height with the depth: map and details TO DO.
• SQL and PostGIS in CartoDB
  • Documentation
    • Reference: http://postgis.net/docs/reference.html
    • Book: PostGIS in Action
  • The SQL Editor
  • Types in PostGIS: geometry and geography
  • About the_geom and the_geom_webmercator columns
  • Measuring distances and areas: ST_Distance, ST_Area and ST_Length
  • Spatial analysis exercise, lesson
    • Getting the closest points to a geometry using ST_Buffer and ST_Intersects or ST_DWithin
    • Getting the line that connects a point with a line with ST_Makeline and ST_ClosestPoint
  • Joining tables, tutorial
    • Counting points inside polygons, tutorial
    • Mapping the number of tornados per USA county.
  • Other interesting functions to review:
    • ST_Centroid and ST_PointOnSurface: getting the interior point of a geometry
    • ST_AsText: WKT geometry representation
    • ST_Transform: changing from one coordinates system to another
    • ST_SetSRID: setting the geometry coordinate system
    • ST_Envelope: getting the bounding box of a geometry
    • ST_MakeEnvelope: creating a bounding box from maximum and minimum coordinates
  • More PostGIS/CartoDB resources:
    • More queries examples and documentation about CartoDB specific SQL functions: CDB_LatLng, how to create grids, etc.
    • 10 spatial queries you need to know, blog
    • Drawing maximum circles that cross the Date line, blog
    • Simulating Dubai flights, generating torque maps from maximum circles. Map and SQL.