Dynamic Maps, doing more with Manifold IMS

TRANSLATION NOTES: Please read some comments at the end of this post.

Good businesses in technology are always filling unmet needs of existing products or improving their skills. In recent days we have been talking about Manifold IMS services, which although are not equivalent to having GisServer, neither cost $ 35,000 per processor.

In my case I think Manifold is a very good strategy for creating online map services, including wcs with a tool that goes under $ 450. While learning to publish took me 23 minutes, to customize the template’s taking me longer and is just about to read, read and get angry with forum’s friends that only say “there is the readme.”

Dynamic Maps is a company established in Canada, from the Carteq.ca creators. I have been talking with Vincent Fréchette, one of its members and he has told me how they plan to enter this world.

The Company

Dyamic Maps is considered a supplier for IMS based services on Manifold GIS. They offer custom applications that do not come with the program’s basic template and would give better functionality to created sites.

All Dynamic Maps products meet the standards of the technologies required for Manifold GIS.

• ASP/ASP.NET and Javascript/JScript.NET from the Server
• XHTML 1.0, CSS 2.0 and Javascript from the Client
• Windows Operating System (XP PRO, VISTA, SERVER 2003 o 2008), and IIS 6 (o higher) as Web server.

Products and services

Kit of 25 new features for customer interface, with code and provided explanations

Among the new features are:

• Printing and exporting to pdf/jpg (See example)
• Measuring distances
• Measuring areas
• Selection via freeform
• Layers’ deployment in differentiated form
• Deployment of mouse coordinates in real time
• Control over the size and position of the deployment
• Auto adjustment map area according to the size of the monitor
• Pan as in Google Maps
• Approach Bar as in Google Maps
• Go to a specific coordinate
• Layers’ control
• Zoom control with mouse wheel
• Pre-and post zoom control
• Graphic Scale

A complete course of the “how to do” with maps service through Manifold GIS, which also includes an introduction to programming

Among the topics contained in this course are:

• Zoom control
• Creating Queries
• Tooltip implementation
• Geocoding using IMS
• Control of minimum, maximum and panning zoom
• How to control some layers to be available in the map but not in the IMS

It also includes a template for the client’s platform (Manifold). This allows us to build quick and easy applications.

What’s next

When talking to Vincent, he has told me that by now they have prioritized five tools:

• 1- Distances’ measurement
• 2- Layer’s differential deployment
• 3- Zoom Bar (As Google’s)
• 4- Movable and resizing container
• 5- PDF/JPG Export

They accept payments by Paypal and credit card delivered via FTP, and although the store is not yet online, it has mentioned me prices, that seem quite economic because are between $30 and $90 by tool (now in beta and at a discount for being the first interested persons); not bad considering that they may be reused and do not approach the cost which would take me or my programmer thinking a lot (*) with .NET.

They expect working between December 15 and January 15, so put this site in your favorites because I have a feeling that will give us much to talk about next year.

We hope everything will go well for these guys.

TRANSLATION NOTES:

(*) romperse el coco: This is an idiom used when we have to think a lot to solve a difficulty.