Map2Share – A System Exploiting Metadata to Share Geographical Information

Abstract

A crucial aspect in GIS project development is the high cost that companies face to collect geographical data. On the other hand, GIS data are abundant and readily available on the Internet for either on-line viewing or direct downloading. We present a software tool which exploits emerging P2P technologies in order to retrieve what is already available on the Internet, thus reducing the data collection cost. In the proposed Map2Share system, two aspects are of special interest, namely the platform which manages access and communication over the network and the retrieval methods to discriminate geographical data. Access and communication management is ensured by the JXTA platform, which is a set of protocols allowing to develop interoperable, platform-independent and ubiquitous P2P architectures. As for the retrieval methods, a minimal set of metadata, on which users may perform efficient retrieval tasks, has been identified on the basis of the well-established ISO/FDIS 19115 and Dublin Core standards. The visual environment characterizing Map2Share is described showing some of its advanced search functionality for geographical data retrieval and sharing.