Re: [OpenMap Users] developing a mobile Openmap

Hi Raj, John,

On Nov 12, 2003, at 12:13 PM, John D Kennedy wrote:
> The biggest stumbling block you'll find is that OpenMap uses swing
> components, but J2ME only supports AWT natively. Some commercial
> versions
> have added swing support.

That's what we've found, too. The latest versions of OpenMap relies on
the Java 2D API as well.

> Hi group. I'm developing an open source mapping application for PDAs
> using J2ME and I'm considering using Openmap as a starting point
> (hoping to leverage that work and be able to improve the mobile app as
> Openmap improves). I have some questions:
> 1. has this been done?

Not that we know (with the current OpenMap package). There have been
many inquiries and much advice given, no results seen.

> 2. does anyone have any thoughts on how feasible this might be?

Some of the first OpenMap versions did not rely on Swing or Java 2D,
and we've thought about taking another look at that code to see how
well it runs on J2ME. That code is pretty old, though, and we'd have
to track it down in our cvs repositories and/or servers. There may be
some bit-rot involved, too.

> 3. what are the legal implications? (I've read the license, but I'd be
> grateful to hear Don's opinion in plain English).

I'm assuming you're inquiring about the reach of the OpenMap license?
The license covers the code in the package and derivative works, and
defines what constitutes derivative works. As stated in the FAQ,
writing code that simply makes calls into the OpenMap API isn't
considered derivative work.

What kind of connectivity are you thinking about in the mobile app? I
think there are ways to trim back the OMGraphics to make it work on
J2ME, and you could probably change a couple of the base classes and
reuse some old OpenMap code, and you could get something working pretty
easily.

- Don

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