Alturion Professional Advanced GPS 6 - The New D3 ? Is There A SDK ?

**stevieg** · 07-22-2005, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by rickster

do you/anyone have any idea how to read the sdal format into an app

I thought about this but thought you would need a few quid to buy the developer licence to read the raw data

Have a look on the SDAL link in terran's post. It's an open standard, there is a massive PDF with the file format definitions. It would require some decent file handling coders and graphics coders at least.

It's worth looking at with the idea to perhaps make an open source (sourceforge?) project just need some navtech DVDs to have a proper look and see if the specifications match the actual DVDs. If I can get hold of them I'll have a look and pass them onto Baggers to have a look at too as he will be interested in looking at it to see if it's of any use in BagNav.

**RoyN** · 07-22-2005, 03:13 PM

that would be amazing... I wonder if they have maps for brazil too.... the only i found was destinator for brazil....

**RoyN** · 07-22-2005, 03:15 PM

where does it say what areas there are DVDs for? or are all of navtechs data available?

**RoyN** · 07-22-2005, 03:17 PM

update: bahh, europe and north america only.... I guess thats 99% of all carpcs

Where does the destinator data come from? I thought it was navteq/ch too!

**rickster** · 07-22-2005, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by stevieg

Have a look on the SDAL link in terran's post. It's an open standard, there is a massive PDF with the file format definitions. It would require some decent file handling coders and graphics coders at least.

It's worth looking at with the idea to perhaps make an open source (sourceforge?) project just need some navtech DVDs to have a proper look and see if the specifications match the actual DVDs. If I can get hold of them I'll have a look and pass them onto Baggers to have a look at too as he will be interested in looking at it to see if it's of any use in BagNav.

Yeah I saw the pdf file. Could be complex. Its possible.

**ccsnet** · 07-22-2005, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by rickster

Yeah I saw the pdf file. Could be complex. Its possible.

Well NaviPC does it... need I say more ?

My opinion is to create an engine in the same way FD and MM use D3 as an engine... but not as complex - every body else will make the front end then ( or adapt ).

This way ( and infomatics is the same ) it can be higly customisable and taylored to what the programmer wants.

Terran

**RoyN** · 07-22-2005, 08:44 PM

yeah, a sort of an "sdk" would be really good... although a open source frontend in itself would probably be better in terms of ttm (time-to-market)... If we need devers to set out to make an SDK and THEN have devers go out and make a frontend with all the features might pose some time problems and would also require a lot of work from the SDK developers (because the guys who make the front itself will be the ones requesting more features)...

**stevieg** · 07-23-2005, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by RoyN

yeah, a sort of an "sdk" would be really good... although a open source frontend in itself would probably be better in terms of ttm (time-to-market)... If we need devers to set out to make an SDK and THEN have devers go out and make a frontend with all the features might pose some time problems and would also require a lot of work from the SDK developers (because the guys who make the front itself will be the ones requesting more features)...

If it's Open source then there is no point making an SDK / engine etc as developers will be able to use it as they wish... If someone needs the functions of an SDK to perhaps communicate with RR/FP/CF for example they can submit the features into the codebase for the navigation software and bam they have a programmable / exposed interface.

Being able to make a FD/RR type front end seems a waste of time, as something like this would realy for portability need to be written in C/C++ for portability and speed and a VB 'front end' would only serve to slow it down.

So yeah, everyone get down the library and get some books on cross-platform programming and C

**ccsnet** · 07-23-2005, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by stevieg

If it's Open source then there is no point making an SDK / engine etc as developers will be able to use it as they wish... If someone needs the functions of an SDK to perhaps communicate with RR/FP/CF for example they can submit the features into the codebase for the navigation software and bam they have a programmable / exposed interface.

Being able to make a FD/RR type front end seems a waste of time, as something like this would realy for portability need to be written in C/C++ for portability and speed and a VB 'front end' would only serve to slow it down.

So yeah, everyone get down the library and get some books on cross-platform programming and C

SDK was probably the wrong choice of word... more what Steve said ie make a common way to read the open source stuff.... ish... I know what I mean

.

Any way - What he says...

Terran

**RoyN** · 07-23-2005, 03:17 PM

Yeah, as I said in my post, a cross-platform frontend that could read the dvds directly and be designed for in-car use would be far better than a "toolkit" or "open library" me thinks...

and of course with the complete gps app released Open Source, a developer could adapt just the engine for another app if he so wished