Digital Data Distribution

MMR Technical Aspects of MiraMon Map Reader(R)

The MiraMon Map Reader(R) is a freely-distributed program that lets you view, query and print maps published on the Internet or in CD-ROM/DVD. Maps have to have been generated using the MiraMon(R) Geographic Information System (GIS) having a specific license called MiraMon Internet Map Publisher(R).

MiraMon Map Reader(R) data format.

With the MiraMon Map Reader(R), information distributed by Internet or on CD-ROM has a basic element called MMZ files, a compressed format that can contain MiraMon(R) Maps or other documents. The concept of "map" here is much broader than the conventional one when we think of a paper map. In fact, a map becomes a set of digital layers of territorial information. These can be queried by position (select any point to find out what is there) or by attribute (you can ask the map to find a certain item, such as a treatment plant, or a phenomenon, such as a weather station having an average January temperature of less than 5°C). They can also include any other associated information such as text documents, spreadsheets, pictures, graphics, sound, HTML sites, Internet addresses or even other maps which, in turn, are linked to another microcosmos of information.

When an MMZ file is generated for Internet distribution, the contents of the MiraMon(R) map as well as linked files are included in the compressed map, so that users can utilize them. In the case of URL links (Internet), the system is prepared so that when a user needs the information, the Reader will open the navigator and automatically go to the right HTML site.

The basic contents of a map might include raster or vector data, database tables or a combination of these. For raster data, we can publish images such as aerial photographs or satellite images, data related to the relief pattern, as well as digital elevation models of the terrain or slopes at any point in the territory, raster thematic cartography, etc. For vector data, we can include point-type features, such as sampling stations or heigh points, line-type features such as contour lines, hydrography or communications networks, or polygon-type features such as land-use areas or administrative divisions. For database tables, information is associated with the items or spatial positions, such as censuses, statistics, other tables, links to new information, etc. As we mentioned before, this last type could include any type of computer document or URL site (Internet) which we could access simply by a click of the mouse. All we need is to make sure Windows knows which application is needed to handle a document or URL site, and the MiraMon Map Reader(R) will know it as well.

Obviously, not only environmental information can be distributed, but also any information directly or indirectly related to the territory. It is worth remembering that any information, even if it is not strictly "cartographic", can benefit from this philosophy if it can be applied to territory. Good examples of this are legal texts and other text documents associated with protected areas.

One important aspect to keep in mind is that the data offered through an MMZ file server can act as a base for other, later jobs, making it coherent and facilitating comparisons and studies from other disciplines. This helps to avoid problems of inconsistency or errors produced when everyone using the same data, whether it is cartographic or alphanumerical, has to enter it into the computer. At the same time, synergy between data increases because the information on one map can be combined with information from any other map.

Philosophy of the System.

The philosophy behind the MiraMon Map Reader(R) does not consist in simply dumping data or a small selection of data onto the screen. It offers access to the data itself, so you can query and use it as much and as often as you want. As mentioned before, data is distributed in a totally professional, consultable format that you could say was a clone of the original information.

Furthermore, because all data is offered, you could, if you wanted, make the query while disconnected from Internet, without connection problems or cost. Therefore, if a team of different people (professionals, students from a certain school) want to work with the same data, they do not all have to be connected to Internet. It can be done through one connection by copying the material onto a server on the local network and working on the copy.

Information generation and transfer is obtained on the basis of the most advanced data compression algorithms, which saves time and money in downloading time (benefiting users) as well as in server availability (benefiting users and data servers). The data compression level depends on the type of files used, and is most important in the case of thematic raster files or database files and important in vector files. Compression of Web files from the Department of the Environment (DMA) of the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), for example, translates into a current size reduction to 37% of its original size.

This philosophy might seem impractical given the huge amount of information to transfer, but it really is not the case. Other systems make you wait for a server to answer a query, for screen dumps to be generated for dozens or hundreds of Kbytes and their transfer, all just to get a simple view of the information, without really individualizing the items and without georeferencing. However, the MiraMon(R) system prepares a data packet that lets small files be transferred. At the least, it allows for the transfer of material that is much richer, versatile and more susceptible to queries. One simple query to the DMA Web site will prove what we claim. Of course you will also find large files at this site, but none that cannot be downloaded using the most modest types of current telecommunications systems. If you also have rapid Internet access, you have at your fingertips any of the community habitats in all of Catalonia at a scale of 1:50,000 in less than a minute and with the accuracy and wealth of detail of digital topographical cartography, not a drawing. It is also worth underlining the fact that the capacity of current disks lets you put almost any information in a server, even outlining preparation for diverse thematic or territorial environments.

On the other hand, while other current strategies based on graphic formats have to be downloaded, decompressed, translated and adapted before viewing, the MiraMon Map Reader(R) opens our door to all this information with just one simple click. This means that we can run smoothly from the navigator to the Reader, to territorial zooms, to queries, to layer combination, to opening all kinds of documents and back to the Internet, if need be. We are offered a coherent, intuitive environment that is not at all simplistic, but rather is based on the high-performance product that is MiraMon(R).

The philosophy of truly distributing GIS data gives rise to problems with their integrity and authorship. When an MMZ file is prepared for Internet, a certificate specific to that file and affecting all the layers and databases it contains is included for just this reason. Since the MiraMon Map Reader(R) checks the integrity of the certificate before displaying the data offered to the user, the integrity of the data is guaranteed, and its authorship known.

As we have mentioned, transfer from a compressed MMZ file simplifies to just 1 click the use of data on the part of the user. The file is downloaded, the items making up the map and associated linked documents are decompressed, the map is opened and visualized, all automatically. From the moment MiraMon Map Reader(R) is opened and decompression begins, you can disconnect from the Internet if you wish.

The system copies in a temporary directory the hierarchy structure needed to properly reproduce the construction needs of the original data. However, users do not have to erase any files that have been consulted, because the MiraMon Map Reader(R) automatically erases everything once it is finished. Erasure of the MMZ file that the navigation software transferred and gave to the Reader is handled by the personal configuration of your navigator, as happens with any automatic download from the Internet.

Despite the simplified use we just explained, advanced or more frequent users can leave the MMZs on their hard disk by transferring them and leaving them in personal directories on their computers through the usual methods (right button, etc.). Once in the hard disk, a double click from the file explorer will open them again without connecting to the Internet. If you want to generate new maps by combining diverse layers and/or changing visualization coordinates, you should first decompress the MMZ file from the file explorer using the contextual menu of the right mouse button. When choosing this option, you can directly open any decompressed maps (MMM files) you find in the directory in which you executed decompression.


 
 

Generating Maps for Distribution.

Maps are generated for distribution (MMZ files) directly from the Maps (MMM files) with which the complete MiraMon(R) GIS is working. This way, when you prepare a map for Internet or CD/DVD distribution, you have to do nothing more than transform MMM to MMZ, with no need for additional preparations or format changes. This philosophy is especially indicated for regular MiraMon(R) users, since it makes publishing their maps on Internet very easy. When changing MMM to MMZ, we have the added value of it being automatically prepared to transfer not only the basic information, but also the characteristics and parameters that determine the way we view, query and print data, associated linked files, etc.

Given the fact that MiraMon(R) transparently reads or imports formats such as BMP, TIFF, GIS-LAN, IMG, VEC, DXF, E00 or DBF, you can prepare an MMZ file that includes data originally from other GISs and database managers such as ERDAS, Idrisi, AutoCad, MicroStation, Arc/Info, ArcView, dBASE, Access, etc. Cartographic layers and databases included in an MMZ file will be directly displayed by the MiraMon Map Reader(R). The ability to read other types of attached files (spreadsheets, sounds, etc.) will depend on the software installed in each customer's computer; however, given the de facto standardization of certain formats that almost any installed Windows can read, this should not be a problem.

The process of compressing an MMM to an MMZ was conceived and programmed with clearly-defined features:

MMZ files are placed with the server, linked from the HTML site in the conventional Internet way. The exact same technology can be used to distribute information over Intranets or CD-ROM/DVD. In fact, if you have a Web with compressed maps and want to generate a CD you only have to pass on the contents of the server to the CD (generating, if you want, an autorun file).
 

The Program.

The MiraMon Map Reader(R) is a very small application (the EXE file is less than 1 Mbyte, with minimum disk requirements of about 2 Mbytes), that is very fast and can work with files that are large in size and complexity (2 Gbyte per file). The fact that it is programmed entirely in C allows for a code of the highest efficiency not requiring high-performance hardware. In fact, you only need 8 Mbytes of RAM to view most databases offered by DMA's Web. The program is available in 3 languages: Catalan, Spanish and English.

The MiraMon Map Reader(R) is a native 32-bit application that can be executed in Windows 3.1x, 95, 98 or NT running on Intel or compatible platforms (Cyrix, AMD, etc.). For Windows 3.1x you need the Win32 extension, free at Microsoft's Web site. To take advantage of all the features of the program and maps, satellite images, etc. that the program can display, it is strongly recommended to configure your graphics card to at least 32,000 colors.

To install the application, you only have to transfer one executable file of 1.4 Mbytes. There is no need for any library outside of the basic Windows library in order to install it, because it is entirely based on Window's 32-bit API. This means there is no need to modify the contents of the system folder or any directory other than the folder you decide to use for installation. It does not modify navigator folders either, because it is not a plug-in. It is an independent application that coordinates with the navigator when necessary, but works locally by itself. The only installation interactions with Windows are certain changes in the register in order to make it more flexible and powerful when working with MiraMon(R) files.

The MiraMon Map Reader(R) works with certified MMZ files and, among other capacities, lets you:

The MiraMon Map Reader(R) is based on the MiraMon(R) Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing software, a program developed by Xavier Pons and collaborators. Xavier Pons is a professor of the Department of Geography and a researcher in the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. MiraMon(R) currently has more than 1100 registered users in 16 countries, and is used each year by hundreds of students in undergraduate and graduate programs in many universities.

MiraMon(R) has professional functions that are not included in the Reader, such as advanced options of spatial analysis, digitizing, topology building, geometric rectification of satellite images and aerial photography, cartographic projection changes, batch processing, etc. MiraMon(R) is an essential element for generating MMZ files to be published on the Web.

At different times during its development, MiraMon(R) received the support of the Department of Agriculture, Stockbreeding and Fishing (DARP) and the Department of the Environment (DMA) of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia). Development of the MiraMon Map Reader(R) has been strongly backed by the DMA using designs and preliminary ideas from Xavier Pons' team on distributing GIS data on the Internet and on CD.


 
 

Adresses and Interesting Links:
 
 
MiraMon(R) Project
Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
08193-Bellaterra, Catalonia-Spain

E-mail: contacte@miramon.uab.es

MiraMon Map Reader(R): http://www.creaf.uab.es/miramon/mmr

MiraMon(R) GIS: http://www.creaf.uab.es/miramon

Web Site with information in MMZ format: http://www.gencat.es/mediamb/sig