FAQs /
Developer Zone
What is the deCarta Developer Zone?
The "Dev Zone" is a free online service allowing developers to prototype and develop location-enabled applications very quickly.
Developers can write applications that make location queries to a cluster of DDS servers via the Internet.
Developers can sign up online at http://developer.deCarta.com, access documentation,
software downloads, live sample applications and development tools, and get online support.
Is "Developer Zone" the same as "Hosted Web Services"?
No. The Developer Zone is intended for prototyping and pre-production development only. No commercial deployments are allowed.
Applications developed on the Developer Zone can be deployed either on Hosted Web Services or on a customer-owned DDS environment.
How do application developers benefit from the Developer Zone?
The main advantage of the Developer Zone is faster time to develop an application. Developers can build a proof-of-concept application in about an hour
and a working application in a day. Application developers do not have to worry about some of the more complex aspects of deploying geospatial platforms,
such as updating of geographic datasets, cluster administration, etc. Additionally, deCarta provides web-based XML
development and debugging tools, sample code and sophisticated license-free sample applications which help developers get up to speed more quickly.
Why does deCarta offer the Developer Zone?
To make our technology easier to access and use. Developers worldwide can typically gain access to the Dev Zone within one or two business days
and start developing applications with tools and environments they are already familiar with.
How much does it cost to join the Developer Zone?
There is no cost to join the Developer Zone and use the service.
Who can sign up to the Developer Zone?
Any qualified application developer can sign up. To qualify, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be part of a recognizable public organization, publicly-traded company or private company. For small or pre-revenue private organizations,
applicants may be required to submit a 1-2 page business plan and a list of current investors
- Agree to attend the orientation webinar on DDS Web Services and the Dev Zone
- Agree to provide feedback to the deCarta Developer Zone Team
- Agree to use the online forum for any support-related issues (no telephone or e-mail support is provided)
- Complete the online sign-up process and answer all required questions
- Agree to the terms and conditions of the deCarta Developer Zone Agreement and deCarta Early Adopter Development License Agreement.
deCarta is solely responsible for determining eligibility. Any questions or inquiries should be sent via e-mail to "devzone at deCarta dot com".
How do I sign up to the Developer Zone?
Go to http://developer.deCarta.com and follow the step-by-step instructions to complete your registration.
In this process, you will create a new account on the Developer Zone with a temporary status of 'applicant' providing limited access to the resources on the site.
The Dev Zone Team will then review the information you provided and, if approved, upgrade your status to 'developer'.
How do I start developing using the Developer Zone?
Once your status gets upgraded to 'developer', you will receive an e-mail with your DDS Web Services clientname and password.
You will also have extended access to the site, including the ability to download a zip archive containing XML schemas, XML samples,
an optional Java client API, documentation and sample code. You can then start placing DDS Web Services queries to the shared DDS cluster in the Dev Zone.
What kind of applications can be developed on the Developer Zone?
The Dev Zone is powered by DDS Web Services which provides all key functionality required for a typical location-enabled application, including:
- Maps and POI display
- Routes and driving directions
- Address lookup (geocoding and reverse geocoding)
- Local search (request for a POI near a location)
DDS Web Services is particularly well suited for browser-based fluid map applications but also provides solid support for mobile devices. There
are no restrictions on the type of client application that uses DDS Web Services. Bear in mind that applications developed on the Dev Zone
cannot be deployed commercially. For Hosted Web Services, data licensing restrictions may apply under certain use cases.
Please contact your deCarta sales representative for further information.
What kind of map and points of interest data is available?
The Developer Zone provides access to NAVTEQ and
Tele Atlas high-quality map and POI data.
deCarta supports a wide variety of products from these and other leading data providers and is constantly adding support for new geographies
and new data attributes. For a complete list, please contact your deCarta sales representative or e-mail us at "salesteam at deCarta dot com".
Do you have sample applications for using your service?
deCarta provides several full-featured map and local search demonstration applications, including sophisticated AJAX-style JavaScript applications.
There are also over 20 sample application "snippets" available for download on the Developer Zone.
They cover map requests, geocoding and reverse geocoding, route determination and points of interest lookup.
Are there any feature limitations on the Developer Zone?
There are no feature limitations on the Dev Zone. The entire feature set of DDS Web Services is available. Developers can develop
advanced location-based applications free of charge without having to install geospatial servers and software, and acquire map or POI data.
What programming languages do you support?
An XML client written in any programming language can access the service. For AJAX development, a comprehensive JavaScript sample application
is available for download with the starter kit. For the convenience of Java developers, a rich Java 2 Standard Edition interface is provided (if you are developing
your application in Java, you won't have to write any XML code). For other development environments such as .NET, Perl and PHP,
you can leverage a wide variety of XML and web services development tools, many of which are open source. deCarta engineers and fellow Dev Zone developers
are also contributing sample code and convenience functions to the Dev Zone community.
What programming interfaces do you support?
The service complies with the Open Geospatial Consortium's OpenLS 1.0 XML interface specification. deCarta's implementation is called
"Drill Down Server Web Services", or DDS Web Services for short. deCarta has extended the specification to provide advanced features
not found in the OpenLS specification, as well as "preview" features that may be found in future versions of the OpenLS specification.
What features does deCarta provide beyond the OpenLS 1.0 standard?
deCarta has added explicit support for tile- or AJAX-style fluid maps. In addition, deCarta has added a
large number of ease-of-use and ease-of-deployment features such as web-based administration and web-based usage reporting.
Ease-of-use features include:
- In a single request to DDS Web Services, receive an entire grid of tiles, each with a unique parameterized URL that can easily be integrated
in an AJAX-style web user interface
- In a single request to DDS Web Services, receive:
- Overview map with highlighted route
- Turn-by-turn driving directions
- Individual maneuver maps
- Improved Pan and Zoom capability
- Comprehensive Java 2 Standard Edition Client API
Ease-of-deployment features include:
- Bundled Tomcat web server (easily replace with a Java web server of your choice)
- Bundled embedded database for image and route caching (easily replace with an enterprise-class database of your choice)
- Desktop developer GUI (click-to-start GUI)
- Web-based administrative console
- Runs on a variety of Unix, Linux, and Windows platforms
These features do not interfere with the standard in any way and their use is entirely optional.
How do I learn more about DDS Web Services?
A Developer's Guide is included in the downloadable DDS Web Services client library on the Dev Zone. Additionally, deCarta holds free monthly webinars
on DDS Web Services. A training schedule is available online on the Dev Zone.
What kind of availability and performance should I expect?
No formal SLA is provided on the Developer Zone but we strive to provide excellent performance and uptime. During normal usage, you should experience
good-to-excellent response times. Since it is shared with many other developers, during times of peak usage it may appear slower than normal. Also bear in mind
that as with any application accessing DDS, response times vary depending on the type of request. For example, local routes are computed more quickly than cross-country routes.
If I start development using the Dev Zone, can I transition to Hosted Web Services?
Yes, absolutely. In fact, this is the preferred process: developers should start developing on the Dev Zone well before transitioning to the
production cluster.
deCarta has developed a well-define process for transitioning from the non-commercial Dev Zone to Hosted Web Services. Once the application
is ready for commercial deployment, deCarta provides a production URL to use instead of the Dev Zone URL in the application.
deCarta engineers assist in profiling the application and ensure that the production environment is appropriately provisioned and configured
to sustain the expected transactional load.
If I start development using the Dev Zone, can I transition to using my own instance of DDS?
Yes, very easily. The Drill Down Server is available on multiple platforms (OS) including Microsoft Windows and multiple Unix/Linux versions.
DDS can also run locally for development purposes. Starting DDS Web Services is a simple matter of double clicking a start icon to launch a desktop
GUI that bundles the web server, DDS and the database. By default, DDS ships with a preconfigured Tomcat web server and embedded database.
The product documentation covers how to switch web servers and databases for use in a production DDS environment.
What is the hosted environment and where is it located?
Both Hosted Web Services and the Developer Zone run in a state-of-the-art, professionally-managed hosting infrastructure and environment.
The servers are installed in a co-location facility at Qwest Communications in Sunnyvale, California.
