I have been researching the best practices with tile servers and how to integrate real cartographic analysis into tile based RIA applications. The results are very interesting with respect to several limitations and also quality.
Tile based RIA applications are becoming more prevalent in the web community because of their responsiveness and flexibility. The current implementations are based on simple APIs, this is excellent for rapid prototyping and creating a site quickly. But it also limits the application when it comes to real data analysis.
In the February MapXtreme Users Group (MUG) we discuss how PBBI products can act as a tile provider and data analysis engine for tile base RIA applications. The talk goes into some of the details and limitations of the current MashUp type RIA application and describes a more complete architecture that allows complex data analysis and how to produce better cartographic maps. Check out the recorded session as well as other MapXtreme recorded sessions and slides at:
http://www.mapinfo.com/mug
The code and description of the basic architecture are available for download at the PBBI Code Exchange:
http://www.mapinfo.com/for-developers/code-exchange
Coming in the May MapXtreme Online User Group we’ll have a sneak peak at what Engineering has been working on.
We hope to see you there.
Internally here at Pitney Bowes Business Insight, formerly MapInfo Corporation & Group 1 Software, we have been talking a lot about how important the next 100 days are for us.
This spring and summer we are coming to market with several major enhancements to our GIS / Location-Intelligence portfolio, as well as an important new product that will have a major place in our portfolio for years to come. In the next 100 days, more or less, you will see a major update to MapInfo Professional® – version 10.0 – you’ll see a new releases of our MapXtreme® software developer kits for Java and .NET, and you’ll see major enhancements released to one of our brand new products, Stratus®.
We know the major enhancements we are making are going to have a direct and positive impact on our existing customers, and that they are going to be important, game changers for new clients. For that reason, we decided we couldn’t sit on our hands any longer. We just had to start talking about the big things that are coming down the pipe.
This blog is one way we’re doing that. We figured we would do some more informal marketing now, in the form of blogging and social networking, before we hit the streets with all of the traditional marketing materials down the road.
So over the next 100 days, please stop back here often. We plan to load this site with all sorts of valuable content related to our traditional MapInfo software – now referred to as our Pitney Bowes Business Insight Location Intelligence Portfolio.
You can also follow us on Twitter, if you are game to do some cutting edge social networking.
We are looking forward to talking with you more about these big changes!
