Adding POI's in iGuidance???

**tsx004** · 12-13-2006, 07:06 PM

Ya, I'ml in to contribute as well. Keep us posted on the rent a coder status.

**barnyard** · 12-14-2006, 12:37 PM

I'll put up a few bucks.

**W3bMa5t3r** · 12-14-2006, 08:40 PM

Hey guys, I got this from the guy today, what do you think? Go for it?

I would be willing to tackle this as a two week project given:

1) Only operations will be add/delete/modify POIs and the only data guaranteed to be changeable is lat/long/name
2) Ruby will used as the language and the application will be console based

Since I don't have the software myself I will need a copy of the binary database file; you will also need to provide final testing of the modified data.

Features I think are possible:
- Adding a new POI (if limit is not reached), deleting an existing POI, modifying an existing POI
- Duplicating POIs; that is, when a new POI is created you choose a base object, this is crude but will copy over general information and "unknown bits"
- Mass-adding POIs based off of a CSV file (lat/long/name/duplicate base)
Problems:
1) Proprietary format/data structure unknown
2) Maximum number of entries allowed/supported by software
3) Lack of local software to ensure rigorous regression testing

Let me know...

**DrDank** · 12-14-2006, 09:57 PM

1) Only operations will be add/delete/modify POIs and the only data guaranteed to be changeable is lat/long/name

That sounds like what we need, I cannot think of anything else that would be needed other than lat/long/name

2) Ruby will used as the language and the application will be console based

I see no reason why that would be a bad thing, I am not familliar with Ruby but cannot think of why any language would be better/worse than another

Since I don't have the software myself I will need a copy of the binary database file; you will also need to provide final testing of the modified data.

I would be happy to supply a copy of the iguidance software under the conditions that he uses it for testing only and upon completion of the project he removes it from his computer (as to not infringe on copyright/piracy laws)

- Adding a new POI (if limit is not reached), deleting an existing POI, modifying an existing POI

The only thing that bothers me about this is the "(if limit is not reached)". I am not sure why the software would have a limit on the POIs if they did not include a method of inserting new ones. Now it would make sense if the limit was what they had already included but if that was the case inserting a new one would not be possible without removing a pre-existing one.

- Duplicating POIs; that is, when a new POI is created you choose a base object, this is crude but will copy over general information and "unknown bits"

I am not exactly sure what that means. Is he saying that to create a new POI we would in essence be duplicating an existing one and then changing the lat/long/name? If thats the case I see no problem with that method.

- Mass-adding POIs based off of a CSV file (lat/long/name/duplicate base)

That sounds like a very important feature as inserting POIs one by one would be very time consuming.

1) Proprietary format/data structure unknown

Indeed, that is a problem, but if it wasn't in a proprietary format then it wouldn't be so difficult for us to figure out

2) Maximum number of entries allowed/supported by software

Again, I am not sure why a limit would exist for a feature that wasn't intended to be increased, unless, of course the limit is the existing amount of POIs included in the software. If that is the case it isn't toally a bad thing if we can import CSVs, as we could remove all the ones for areas we did not intend to go and then import the lists for areas when traveling.

3) Lack of local software to ensure rigorous regression testing

If he desires I will 'donate' my copy of iGuidance 3.0 so that he could have the software locally to "ensure rigorous regression testing". (Of course I would want it back when he was done!) I just need to brush up on the copyright/piracy laws to ensure that I wasn't doing anything illegal by sending him my copy of iGuidance.

To recap, I do not think this sounds bad at all. What was his Bid?

Also if the project is sucessful we should sell the technology to iGuidance so they can implement it into their next version

Let us know the bid, if it something reasonable I say lets do it.

**W3bMa5t3r** · 12-14-2006, 10:36 PM

Ok, I've told him we can provide a copy of the software for development and testing provided it is removed from his system upon completion of the project so we stay good with infringement laws.

Also made it clear that we have people to help test.

He's not sure if there is a limit on the POIs, so that will be something he'll find out. Hopefully and most likely there isn't a limit.

It was made clear that the mass add would be a HUGE bonus as IG comes with a few hundred thousand POIs and if we were to import it, other programs have many million POIs... so it's pretty much required.

He hasn't bid yet, but I did ask him in the last message for the charge/bid for the two different versions. With/Without Mass add.

/edit... lol guess we could sell it back to Inav.. lol hopefully this isn't going to cost us tooo much :-) it'll be nice though either way.

**tsx004** · 12-15-2006, 12:12 AM

I don't quite get it, so the changes that he will make will allows us to add POI's? Or will it allow us to import POI from other software as initially mentioned in this thread? For example the POI' from Lexus or Acura Navi systems as they have several million POI and are very acurate unlike some IG POI's.

**DrDank** · 12-15-2006, 01:18 AM

The changes would allow for importing new POIs by using a CSV (comma seperated value) file. So I guess the real question would be can we export the data from the Lexus/Acura/Whatever systems.

The export does not have to be made in a CSV format, but it is fairly simple to manipulate data into a CSV format so it could be imported into iGuidance.

MuldRick, do you know if the data on the Lexus CDs can be exported into any kind of text document? Or viewed as a list of some sort?

tsx004, I am glad you asked that question, because if we have no way of exporting the POIs list from other software then the value of this modification to iGuidance is greatly reduced.

**Sonicxtacy02** · 12-15-2006, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by DrDank

The changes would allow for importing new POIs by using a CSV (comma seperated value) file. So I guess the real question would be can we export the data from the Lexus/Acura/Whatever systems.

The export does not have to be made in a CSV format, but it is fairly simple to manipulate data into a CSV format so it could be imported into iGuidance.

MuldRick, do you know if the data on the Lexus CDs can be exported into any kind of text document? Or viewed as a list of some sort?

tsx004, I am glad you asked that question, because if we have no way of exporting the POIs list from other software then the value of this modification to iGuidance is greatly reduced.

i have a copy of his lexus cd.. i'll check that tonight. Pretty sure the data on that disk was in .dat format though. This is HUGE if we get it done. Good work steve!

**W3bMa5t3r** · 12-15-2006, 09:34 AM

Hey guys, his bid was $40 for a 2 week deadline, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to complete it within that time frame, so I told him 3 or even 4 weeks is fine, and if he did achieve this, we would throw in a bonus (cuz $40 really isn't all that much).
If we can't figure it out, and it does come down to needing to find a way to export the data from the other manufacturer's cds/dvds, I'm sure we can have that as another job to throw at this guy as well

This is his reply...

Originally Posted by The Coder

For add/edit/delete/duplicate POI with ability to mass-add from CSV provided that I can release the code under an Open Source (such as the GPL) License and distribute it online. (This would also benefit you if any improvements were made.)

However, due to the problems presented by a closed file format (that it's around the holidays) the best deadline I can offer is 14 days (let's say, December 30). I can also NOT guarantee that I can complete this--in which case I logically wouldn't expect a claim on any of the commission.

I take software piracy seriously; stealing is stealing. Having the dataset is an absolute requirement and having access to the software would greatly speed up the testing cycle.

@DrDank - If you're still good for 'donating' your copy of IG3.0 just let me know and I'll let you know when and where it'll need to go if that's cool. He agreed to the copyright infringement bit (he kinda has to since all of our communications are tracked on that site and it's all legally binding

). So it'll be removed from his system once the project is done.

**jeffreyd_tx** · 12-15-2006, 09:43 AM

Steve,
Have you (or anyone) considered drafting a real quick scope of work so that we are certain he is doing what is best for the RR/iG user community?