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Albany Information Warehouse

The spatial database has data, which is geocoded to each location on the base map. For this project the GIS software package used was MapInfo. Integrating MapInfo to the commands sent out by the VB executables was done by using MapBasic (MapInfo’s programming language). The embedded MapBasic commands use dynamic data exchange (DDE) method to exchange data from the Visual Basic codes to MapInfo. MapBasic instructs MapInfo to perform required tasks in order to generate query results and save the final results as image maps (JPGS). Once the image is generated it is placed in a directory where the web pages can access it.

Thus to sum it up, the parameters passed over by the client to the DLL was passed on to the Visual Basic code, which had MapBasic code embedded in it. This Map Basic set of commands further instructed the GIS application MapInfo, using dynamic data exchange method, to exchange data and perform the queries and finally save the query results as JPEG maps. The graphical layout of this experimental technology setup is given below.

Project methodology:
The action plan for the research was follows:

1. Collection of the housing, land-use, topographical, commercial and available infrastructural data of Albany. Collection methods included collection from local governmental agencies. Some of the data was mocked up for unavailable data and thus this project should be considered as purely experimental.
2. Creation of relevant database and normalization of data to avoid noise or misleading results.
3. Conversion of data in GIS application importable data format and the creation of the spatial database.
4. Researching a method of communicating with an application not designed for web use (MapInfo). In our case, Microsoft’s DDE was chosen.
5. Researching and devising a method of engaging the queries from remote client (thorough the World Wide Web) to trigger off GIS application and perform the required queries and finally transfer results back to the client from the server.
6. Interfacing the GIS application with the webpage to allow query from client to be implemented by the GIS application on the remote server.
7. Display of the queried results in a simple and easy-to-understand webpage. Special emphasis has to be laid to the wide range of users that this web resource is expected to cater.