June/July 2007

Developers wanting to build mapping and related functionality into their applications now have a new product to consider - Mapsolute Connected Services, or MCS.

Mapsolute has been developing what it calls dynamic and aggregated content for the mapping resources it offers clients for several years. Now it has drawn these features together in a standard product that it can offer developers.

So what do you get with MCS? Mapsolute says software licensees can integrate algorithms such as map displays, route calculation and local tracing services, and can also have direct access to traffic information, road conditions and current points of interest.

Mapsolute claims that it differs from most other mapping providers in that it can draw on an existing server platform to deliver the service. Its hosted service, Map24, already handles millions of server requests daily.

 

For the technically-minded, MCS Mapsolute uses XML/SOAP Web services, which the company describes as a counterpart to technologies such as AJAX in the so-called Web 2.0 environment. It is similar to the 'mash-ups' in community applications, the company says. (Mash-ups are Web pages containing content from several different sources simultaneously.)

Mapsolute's Map24, featured in previous issues of m.logistics, is a free online mapping and route-planning service.