Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!vsi1!octopus!pete
From: pete@Octopus.COM (Pete Holzmann)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Need Hi-Res Digital Map Data
Summary: We must reformat the data
Message-ID: <1990Mar19.124914.15319@Octopus.COM>
Date: 19 Mar 90 12:49:14 GMT
References: <415@hal.CSS.GOV> <141623@felix.UUCP>
Reply-To: pete@octopus.COM (Pete Holzmann)
Organization: Octopus Enterprises, Cupertino CA
Lines: 45

In article <141623@felix.UUCP> art@felix.UUCP (Art Dederick) writes:
>In article <415@hal.CSS.GOV> bobowicz@hal.CSS.GOV (Tom Bobowicz) writes:
>>
>>5.)	National Technicl Information Service
>>
>>	WDB II (World Database/Data Bank) II containing about 6 million 
>>	points describing costlines, political boundaries, rivers, lakes,
>>	etc.  Available on magnetic tape for $660.
>
>Since there has been many requests for map databases and this
>particular database seems to be the most comprehensive, but expensive,
>how about we all get together and pool our $'s to get a copy and put
>it on a FTP & UUCP site or other easy distribution method?  I'm assuming
>once we have a copy we can re-distribute it.  Someone please correct me
>if I'm wrong.

From my past experience as organizer of the group that made the Hershey
Fonts available to the Net...

NTIS does not want us redistributing 'their data'. I put this in quotes
because they have a peculiar definition of this: all they care about is
data formatted the way they have it. If the data is reformatted, then
nobody will mistake it as a copy of NTIS data. NTIS will therefor not
feel obliged to handle support requests in any way; this is really what
they want to avoid.

For the Hershey fonts, we took the coordinates from them (stored as
ASCII numbers e.g. "0064,0012") and turned them into biased ASCII characters
(i.e. new char = 'R' + n, I think). This cut the database size down by
a factor of 5 or so, even before compressing and uuencoding.

So, if somebody already has WDBII, and has reformatted the data in some
way (hopefully useful!), there is no problem with passing it out to the
Net. I suppose somebody should check to see whether WDBII is restricted
in some way from international distribution. I doubt it, as literally
anybody can purchase NTIS information.

Pete

-- 
Peter Holzmann, Octopus Enterprises   |(if you're a techie Christian & are
19611 La Mar Ct., Cupertino, CA 95014 |interested in helping w/ the Great
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