One or more embodiments of the invention provide for an interactive
geographic information system on a personal digital assistant (PDA). The
system enables the viewing and interaction with geographic information on a PDA. Such information is available while the PDA is connected to a network (i.e., online) and while disconnected (i.e., offline). Embodiments provide the PDA with the functionality commonly available in a standard
client comprised of a complete computer
system. For example, embodiments provide raster maps for multiple
zoom levels, with each
zoom level comprising multiple tiles allowing for "virtual
roaming" across a map. One or more embodiments also provide raster zooms (by scaling existing raster tiles), selectable vector geometry (for interacting and highlighting with user objects), geo-referencing information for map navigation, meta-data in the form of layer definitions (
visibility, display attributes, etc.), links to object attributes in databases, links to object reports generated by corporate web servers, uploadable, sharable redlining data (created from scribbles on the field), offline access on a PDA, and a compact PDA
database. Thus, one or more embodiments of the invention provide interactive maps and business objects that can be viewed and queried on a PDA, both in an
online and offline mode.