Map API VAG

this is an initial draft so scope and focus are still fairly open. Please add comments to the Talk:Map API VAG if you have slightly different viewpoints so we can try to converge on a common view. This discussion could also expose other similar VAG that are needed in this area

The Map API Viewpoint Advocacy Group exists to ...

See the Architecture Working Group and the Viewpoint Advocacy Groups for more information.

Areas of concern addressed by the viewpoint

Improving the usefulness of the Webmap API to both client, server and SL Viewer applications
Permitting third-party developers to develop their own APIs by providing them with a data source suitable for updating their database
- Analysing use cases where the first party API is insufficient in order to improve the first party API

Source of Viewpoint

Use Cases

See the Architecture Working Group Glossary and usecase templates for more information on creating usecases. One liners are fine (and better than nothing) but more detail will result in a better understanding and a better architecture.

Related JIRA Issues

The following JIRA issues are known problems that this VAG would like to see resolved in any future architecture. The purpose of this list it to avoid problems that exist in the curent architecture. The more typical JIRAs that are more short term in nature or can be resolved by simple code or design change should not be listed here.

WEB-49, TSL lacks a Map API
WEB-87 Webmap Images not updating
WEB-376, Map API does not properly handle SLPoint with region names
WEB-405, SLMAP API - disableVoiceInfo not working
WEB-473, webmap API indicates regions occupying multiple points in space simultaneously
WEB-474, Postcards need to send Global Coordinates since removal of SLPoint() from the SL Map API
WEB-503, sense; voice map API; it makes none, aka "query returns empty data set instead of error
WEB-504, PHP output mixed with javascript output
WEB-1560, Apply a OSS license to the SLURL.com JavaScript

Links

Organization

Anyone with an interest in this Viewpoint is welcome to join. You should join the AW Groupies group in Second Life.

Members (Stakeholders)

SignpostMarv Martin
Hackshaven Harford
Ice Brodie - Unable to make meeting on the 22nd
Yoz Linden
Thraxis Epsilon

In world meetings

Tuesday 22nd January 2008, 9:30am Meta Linden's Office
Thursday 11th November 2010, 2pm Meta Linden's Office
- Notes from agenda points discussed
  1. Discuss whether voicemap API should be retained
    - Only visual record of the voicemap
    - An educated guess would be that the voicemap API was left online by accident when the voicemap page was taken down.
    - Response from Yoz:
      [02:49 PM] Yoz Linden: OK, then we return to my original statement
      [02:49 PM] Yoz Linden: namely, that you can use it as long as you want, but I wouldn't rely on it existing permanently
  2. Discuss desirable API calls
    - Monolithic dump of region data, similar to the one that used to be contained in slmapapi.js consisting of at least the region names & co-ordinates, with region uuid, server version/channel, region owner UUID, and a list of viewer features requiring server-side support (as voice/display names/mesh etc. can be rolled out selectively)
    - Having region servers push a data dump off their parcel's metadata to an S3 server
    - API/feed of region movement/renaming
Thursday 18th November 2010, 2pm-3pm SLT Meta Linden's Office
- Notes from agenda points discussed
  1. Request the LDPW to make available and maintain APIs for notable locations/landmarks (see http://mapapi.net/secondlife/ for example implementations of such APIs)
    - Request subsets of the monolithic dump be provided to indicate which mainland regions belong to each continent
    - Request for a LDPW category be added to the destination guide
    - Request the provision of pre-baked overlays showing road/rail routes, or more preferably, a list of co-ordinates indicating way points for such routes (see http://mapapi.net/_data/grid-configs/com/secondlife/agni/roads.js for the kind of data required to generate route overlays dynamically)
    - Request the provision of APIs/data dumps of "Large region names" for places such as "Snowlands" "Bay City" "Linden Village" "Vehicle Sandbox" etc
    - Request estate owners be given the option to "publish estate name", so that the estate name for a region may be listed amongst the meta tags on world.secondlife.com/region/ documents.
~~Thursday 25th November 2010, 2pm-3pm SLT~~ postponed until WEB-1560 gets processed Meta Linden's Office
- Agenda
  1. Discuss desirable API calls
    - Desirable data in a per-region parcel data dump
  2. Discuss potential benefits of WEB-1560: Apply a OSS license (BSD or GPL) to the SLURL.com JavaScript
    - See http://mapapi.net/secondlife/ for an example