Thin client for mapping system

Abstract

A method of operating a thin client in a mapping system includes receiving, by the thin client, a map adapter from a map server; loading the map adapter in the thin client, wherein the loaded map adapter comprises a map engine; receiving, by the thin client, map data from the map server; and displaying, by the thin client, the map data in the map engine in the map adapter.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of operating a thin client in a mapping system, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the thin client, a map adapter from a map server; 
 loading the map adapter in the thin client, wherein the loaded map adapter includes a map engine; 
 receiving, by the thin client, undecorated map data from the map server; and 
 storing the undecorated map data at a local cache of the map adapter in the thin client; 
 sending a request from the local cache of the map adapter of the thin client to the map server for symbology data corresponding to the undecorated map data; 
 receiving, by the thin client, the symbology data and replacing the undecorated map data with the symbology data at the local cache; 
 loading the symbology data from the local cache to the map engine; and  
 displaying, by the thin client, the map symbology data in the map enginein the map adapter. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the thin client comprises a first computer, and the map server comprises a second computer, and wherein the thin client and the map server support advanced field artillery tactical data system (AFATDS) general map interface (GMI) alignment. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the map server comprises a map file server, and the map file server comprises a plurality of map adapters, and wherein receiving the map adapter from the map server comprises:
 requesting, by the thin client, a list of available map adapters from the map server; 
 receiving, by the thin client, the list of available map adapters from the map server, wherein the list of available map adapters comprises a subset of the plurality of map adapters that comprise the map file server; 
 determining, by the thin client, a selected map adapter from the list of available map adapters; 
 requesting, by the thin client, the selected map adapter from the map file server; and 
 receiving, by the thin client, the selected map adapter from the map file server. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the list of available map adapters comprises a list of uniform resource locators (URLs) corresponding to the subset of the plurality of map adapters that comprise the map file server, and wherein requesting the selected map adapter comprises sending a URL corresponding to the selected map adapter to the map file server. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving map data by the thin client from the map server comprises:
 receiving, by the thin client, undecorated map data from the map server; and   receiving, by the thin client, symbology data corresponding to the undecorated map data from the map server.   
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein displaying the map data in the map engine in the map adapter comprises:
 replacing, by the thin client, at least a portion of the undecorated map data with the symbology data, and   displaying, by the thin client, the symbology data in the map engine.   
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 loading, by the map server, a new map adapter in a map file server of the map server; 
 registering, by the map server, a URL corresponding to the new map adapter by the map server; and 
 providing, by the map server, the registered URL to the thin client in response to a request for a list of available map adapters from the thin client. 
 
     
     
       8. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing computer code that, when executed by a computer, implements a method for operating a thin client in a mapping system, wherein the method comprises:
 receiving, by the thin client, a map adapter from a map server; 
 loading the map adapter in the thin client, wherein the loaded map adapter comprises a map engine; 
 receiving, by the thin client, undecorated map data from the map server; and 
 storing the undecorated map data at a local cache of the map adapter in the thin client; 
 sending a request from the local cache of the map adapter of the thin client to the map server for symbology data corresponding to the undecorated map data; 
 receiving, by the thin client, the symbology data and replacing the undecorated map data with the symbology data at the local cache; 
 loading the symbology data from the local cache to the map engine; and  
 displaying, by the thin client, the map symbology data in the map enginein the map adapter. 
 
     
     
       9. The computer program product according to  claim 8 , wherein the thin client comprises a first computer, and the map server comprises a second computer, and wherein the thin client and the map server support advanced field artillery tactical data system (AFATDS) general map interface (GMI) alignment. 
     
     
       10. The computer program product according to  claim 8 , wherein the map server comprises a map file server, and the map file server comprises a plurality of map adapters, and wherein receiving the map adapter from the map server comprises:
 requesting, by the thin client, a list of available map adapters from the map server; 
 receiving, by the thin client, the list of available map adapters from the map server, wherein the list of available map adapters comprises a subset of the plurality of map adapters that comprise the map file server; 
 determining, by the thin client, a selected map adapter from the list of available map adapters; 
 requesting, by the thin client, the selected map adapter from the map file server; and 
 receiving, by the thin client, the selected map adapter from the map file server. 
 
     
     
       11. The computer program product according to  claim 10 , wherein the list of available map adapters comprises a list of uniform resource locators (URLs) corresponding to the subset of the plurality of map adapters that comprise the map file server, and wherein requesting the selected map adapter comprises sending a URL corresponding to the selected map adapter to the map file server. 
     
     
       12. The computer program product according to  claim 8 , wherein receiving map data by the thin client from the map server comprises:
 receiving, by the thin client, undecorated map data from the map server; and   receiving, by the thin client, symbology data corresponding to the undecorated map data from the map server.   
     
     
       13. The computer program product according to  claim 12 , wherein displaying the map data in the map engine in the map adapter comprises:
 replacing, by the thin client, at least a portion of the undecorated map data with the symbology data, and   displaying, by the thin client, the symbology data in the map engine.   
     
     
       14. The computer program product according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 loading, by the map server, a new map adapter in a map file server of the map server; 
 registering, by the map server, a URL corresponding to the new map adapter by the map server; and 
 providing, by the map server, the registered URL to the thin client in response to a request for a list of available map adapters from the thin client. 
 
     
     
       15. A mapping system comprising:
 a thin client configured to:
 receive a map adapter from a map server; 
 load the map adapter, wherein the loaded map adapter comprises a map engine; 
 receive map data from the map server; and 
 store the undecorated map data at a local cache of the map adapter in the thin client; 
 send a request from the local cache of the map adapter of the thin client to the map server for symbology data corresponding to the undecorated map data; 
 receive the symbology data and replace the undecorated map data with the symbology data at the local cache; 
 load the symbology data from the local cache to the map engine; and  
 display the map data in the map enginein the map adapter. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The mapping system of  claim 15 , wherein the thin client comprises a first computer, and the map server comprises a second computer, and wherein the thin client and the map server support advanced field artillery tactical data system (AFATDS) general map interface (GMI) alignment. 
     
     
       17. The mapping system of  claim 15 , wherein the map server comprises a map file server, and the map file server comprises a plurality of map adapters, and wherein the thin client is configured to receive the map adapter from the map server by:
 requesting a list of available map adapters from the map server; 
 receiving the list of available map adapters from the map server, wherein the list of available map adapters comprises a subset of the plurality of map adapters that comprise the map file server; 
 determining a selected map adapter from the list of available map adapters; 
 requesting the selected map adapter from the map file server; and 
 receiving the selected map adapter from the map file server. 
 
     
     
       18. The mapping system of  claim 17 , wherein the list of available map adapters comprises a list of uniform resource locators (URLs) corresponding to the subset of the plurality of map adapters that comprise the map file server, and wherein requesting the selected map adapter comprises sending a URL corresponding to the selected map adapter to the map file server. 
     
     
       19. The mapping system of  claim 15 , wherein the thin client is configured to receive map data from the map server and display the map data in the map engine in the map adapter by:
 receiving undecorated map data from the map server; and   receiving symbology data corresponding to the undecorated map data from the map server;   replacing, by the thin client, at least a portion of the undecorated map data with the symbology data, and   displaying, by the thin client, the symbology data in the map engine.   
     
     
       20. The mapping system of  claim 15 , wherein the map server is configured to:
 load a new map adapter in a map file server of the map server; 
 register a URL corresponding to the new map adapter by the map server; and 
 provide the registered URL to the thin client in response to a request for a list of available map adapters from the thin client.