It is a number of components including geocoding, mapping and a routing engine ,that
combines to give you a very comprehensive location mapping tool. Location Services is 100%
Java, it uses Oracle iAS, Oracle OC4J, Oracle Spatial and Navigation Technologies Corporation's (NAVTEQ) data.
The NAVTEQ data has been compiled and transformed into a large number of views or layers and loaded into
an Oracle Spatial database. The different layers are used for mapping, zooming, geocoding and routing.
2) How does Oracle's Location Services build a map from an address?
We use a process known as "geocoding." Geocoding takes an address and returns a
corresponding latitude/longtitude pair, stored as an Oracle Spatial geometry. The lat/lon
is then used to position the address onto a map layer created from NAVTEQ data.
3) What should I do if my address is not found?
This could happen for a number of reasons:
a) The current service only supports the Contiguous United States.
b) NAVTEQ coverage, that is the streets for that town or city are not in the NAVTEQ data that Location Services uses.
c) You typed in the address incorrectly. Try retyping it and spell out all the words (ex. "East Stark Street")
d) If street is not in data, clear the street field and just enter town or city and state. If this works it will return
a map centered on the town or city. You can then zoom in for street details.
e) If you know the zipcode , just enter it and it will return a map centered in that zipcode. You can then
zoom in for street details.
f) You can also try entering a nearby location name (ex. "Moscone Center" or "Madison Square Garden")
NAVTEQ data includes hundreds of thousands of place names, including airports, schools, restaurants, stadiums and parks.
(ex. "Logan International Airport", "Yankee Stadium", "Hunter College", "Ray's Pizza")
4) What should I do if Directions are not generated?
This is typically a product of one or both addresses not being found.
a) Go through the the steps listed in question number 3 for the failing address.
b) If one address is not found you could generate directions from the center of the town or city.
c) You could also generate directions using location names (ex. "Hunter College" to "Yankee Stadium" )
5) Why would Directions generate longer routes?
Location Services components work off the street or road attributes that are in the NAVTEQ data. These attributes include speed limit, road classification and directional info. Attributes not available in the current offering include rush hour delays and construction changes. We will be looking to enhance our offering with real time traffic information in a future release.
6) Where can I specify the mapper, router and geocoder services that I want to use?
There is a section in the Dispatcher configuration file (dispatchercfg.xml) under /config folder where all the geocoder, mapper and router services can be specified. See <mapper_cluster>, <router_cluster> and <geocoder_cluster> sections and add your desired service URLs there.
Note
We will be improving the street coverage over time.
Data Provided by Navigation Technologies Corporation (NAVTEQ) Navigation Technologies Corporation is the world's leading navigation map coverage provider, creating digital maps of
extraordinary precision and accuracy for North America and Europe. NAVTEQ„ databases contain the detail, depth, and accuracy needed to calculate efficient and reliable door-to-door
driving directions. NAVTEQ maps provide complete town-to-town coverage for the continental United States and growing
coverage of Canada, with high-precision detailed coverage of hundreds of metropolitan areas throughout North America.
Visit NAVTEQ website at: www.NAVTEQ.com.