Architecture:

General

A 3-tier architecture is in use in Maplet. The Maplet client (the user interface) takes care of defining search criteria showing the amount of found targets (item counts) and drawing targets on the map. The Maplet server (Search tool server) maintains the search criteria in the cache mamory, transfers data and maps to the client. The service database and the map server are at the lowest level.

Database (Web Service)

Maplet gets attribute data straight from the production database. The work load Maplet hits on the database is extreamely little, in reality it is of minor importance due to the efficient cache memory solution (see the Maplet Server). Any SQL database or a text file as well will serve as a data storage. Operating system in computer is not significant for Maplet.

Map Server

Maplet is independent on a map server. Interfaces already exist to the most common map servers and building a connection to uncommon servers can be done fast with the clear Java-made interface. Maplet works with different vector and raster map servers.

Maplet is also independent on type of a map resource. A tourist map or an aerial picture or a satellite image works as a map resource as well.

Maplet also allows to buy maps as a service. The Maplet server requires a map through Http protocol and adds location information directly from a production database on top of a map not until on the Maplet client.

Maplet Server (Search Engine Tool Server)

Maplet Server maintains a database in the cache memory in the central memory, from which information that the client needs and the coordinates will be received extreamely fast. This enables information to be updated in real time in the user interface when defining search criteria. In the same time, information or maps do not have to be installed on the client side, real-time information can be used directly from the database. The cache memory closes queries on the Maplet server, thus, the database will not be loaded at all. The cache memory database is created automatically with some SQL statements in the parameter files and is updated from the database at chosen intervals.

Maplet Server takes care of connections to map servers. On the Maplet server, maps are compressed for the transport to the Client so that all would function well on mobile terminals and with slow connections.

Maplet Server is implemented with Java 2 programming language.

Maplet Client (User Interface)

Making and transferring map images is the heaviest part of data management. Maplet client requires map only when selecting an area. The amount of maps remains small as the area cropping is done intuitively by drawing the chosen area on a map.

Defining the other search criteria the item count and their locations on a map are updated in-real time also with modem connection. All necessary data will be received directly from the cache memory database of the Maplet server and the size of data to be transferred is small, only the item count and item coordinates. Markings indicating locations are drawn on top of a map on the Maplet client.

The Maplet client is implemented with Java 1.1 which is a prerequisite for the fact that it works in the most common browsers as standard. At the same time the function has been made possible on mobile terminals.

The user interface is defined with XML. This allows to create and modify user interfaces quickly for specific user groups on different terminal devices.

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