New generation applications such as JMap NG and JMap Survey connect to the JMap Web API to access projects. They are built on technologies that allow them to evolve over time and to be fully customized by the developers of client organizations.
The JMap administrator does not need to configure a deployment, as would be the case with traditional applications; the applications connect to and consume the projects directly.
While this simplifies the administrator’s work since there is no deployment to elaborate, it is critical to follow project configuration best practices to ensure the optimal performance and relevance of the new generation applications.
Indeed, for applications of this type, projects must be designed with a view to their end use. A single project can be disseminated in several different traditional applications based on specific needs, but it is disseminated directly and in its entirety in new generation applications.
JMap’s new generation applications work with vector data organized into vector tiles, resulting in a heavy workload for the Web browser, contrarily to JMap Web, for example, whose workload is mostly handled by JMap Server.
If the deployed traditional applications can be hosted in a proxy, in the case of new generation applications, JMap’s Web APIs are hosted in a proxy.
The Mapbox vector tiles used in new generation applications ensure smooth image rendering, while also offering smooth and efficient three-dimensional navigation.
Using Mapbox vector tiles does however bring some limitations to applications such as the requirement to use the Web Mercator projection system, more precisely the EPSG:3857 reference system.
The project may have another projection system, but when generating vector tiles by Mapbox, the vector data is reprojected to ESPG:3857. If the raster data does not have a version in this system, it is also reprojected which can affect application performance. The Multiple Coordinate Reference Systems section provides details on this topic.
Some practices make projects more appropriate for use with new generation applications:
The project must be designed based on its end use; each NG application must open the entire project.
A project with few layers makes it easier to display the application by reducing the Web browser’s workload.
Generating vector tiles can take a certain amount of time, depending on the size of the data. Vector tiles are generated for specific zoom levels (approximately 20). Each tile contains the data describing the geometries and attributes. They are light and allow the style to be changed on the fly when a user is browsing the map.
You can create tile caches for projects. This article contains the detailed procedure to produce vector tile caches.
JMap NG applications open in a Web browser. They can be used to display data two and three-dimensionally, to navigate the data three-dimensionally, to query, measure and edit editable data, and to create and print customized maps.
The administrator must provide the URL of the NG service to users. The users will then be able to access the JMap server’s projects based on the permissions for each project.
The URL is in the following form: http://SERVERADDRESS:PORT/services/ng where SERVERADDRESS:PORT is the IP address or domain in which JMap Server is installed. Here are two examples:
https://jmap7dev.jmaponline.net/services/ng
http://192.168.0.106:8080/services/ng
The documentation for developers offers other options to initiate JMap NG.
JMap Survey applications are mobile applications that are used to collect data in the field in offline mode (without Internet access). This application replaces the traditional JMap Mobile application.
Similarly to JMap NG, JMap Survey allows the user to connect to a specific project from a JMap server.
The administrator must then provide the URL of the JMap Server server and the name of the project to users so that they can connect to the application.