Telecontar Launches API For Browser-Based Mapping In AJAX Environments
Addresses Barriers To Developing And Implementing "Draggable" Maps


Telcontar, supplier of software and services for the Location-Based Services (LBS) industry, announced the availability of a comprehensive application programming interface (API), which will allow developers to more easily develop and implement innovative mapping solutions. The API provides a new, open architecture for browser-based mapping and local search applications in AJAX environments. Built on the trusted, scalable technology of Telcontar's Drill Down Server (DDS) geospatial software platform, the offering operates either behind a firewall or through the company's Hosted Web Services capability. "There is an increasing trend to enhance user experience utilizing fluid or 'draggable' maps in AJAX and browser-based applications," said J. Kim Fennell, president and CEO of Telcontar. "The tools and platforms available to application developers have been lagging behind the cutting-edge of these new applications. Telcontar's offering delivers powerful tools that ease the design hurdles and enables customers to get to market sooner." AJAX mapping applications are rapidly replacing traditional "click-and-wait" applications for web-based map, local search, driving directions and other map-centric applications. AJAX is a combination of techniques that leverages the ability for the web browser to communicate with web servers in the background. New information is displayed as it is received without the need to reload the entire web page, translating into a more responsive interface and "desktop-like" application look and feel. Developers tasked with building AJAX mapping applications are faced with many daunting challenges: - Developing JavaScript that is portable across browsers - Managing asynchronous XML communication with the server - Designing a client architecture for loading new map tiles on demand - Managing map tiles in the context of spatial operations like panning and zooming - Architecting a scalable server environment capable of coping with massive load differentials compared to a traditional map application - Designing a map that is differentiated from the competition and with a look-and-feel that represents the provider's brand - Overlaying route geometry and points of interest for both screen and print operations - Efficiently handling poor user address input including typos, wrong postal codes and non-existent street addresses.