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This area of the applet displays a map of Minneapolis showing one-third of the total number of roads. To select a source or destination point, click the mouse over an intersection. The area that registers for each intersection is just a few pixels wide, so be sure to check the source and destination window to make sure your click registered with the applet. |
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When an intersection is selected on the map, the identifier for that intersection is displayed in the source and destination windows. The first intersection selected is the source and the second selection is the destination, so all directions will be based on that ordering. After both a source and a destination are entered into the system, the applet sends the pair to the routing server at the University of Minnesota so it can compute your path. When a source is selected, the destination field is cleared to indicate that your new source has been accepted. |
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The message window displays information from the server regarding the status of the socket connection. This window also displays the list of directions generated by the server for your path. |
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This feature allows the user to choose the type of algorithm to use and the type of shortest path route to use. The user can choose to use either the Dijkstra shortest path algorithm or the A* algorithm. The two algorithms will produce the same path, but will have different computation times. The user can also choose to have the route show the shortest travel time or the shortest travel distance between two points.
Note: These features have not been implemented in this version |
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These two buttons will unclutter the display by removing the last path computed or by removing all paths. |
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The window labeled Prior Routes shows the identifiers for the source and destination of recently computed paths. By double-clicking on a pair, the path will be recomputed. This is useful when different routing criteria are used or when a path has been removed from the display.
The Points of Interest feature lists some interesting locations on the map. To choose one of these points, double click on it and the identifier of the point will be displayed in the source or destination window. |
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The list of directions for the route is presented as a series of turns. The disections start from the road taken from your source and proceed until the road to your destination is reached.
Note: Roads labeled with null indicate the road name is not present in the database. This often is the case for exit/exntrance ramps. |
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The Gazeteer windows provide an eay way to look up street intersections if you do not know where the physically are on the map. To use this feature, double click on a street in the left window. This will bring up the list of streets it intersects in the right window. Select the proper cross street by double clicking on the road name you are looking for. The change is relflected in the source and destination field.
Note: We had to enter the roadnames manually, so they are not 100% accurate |
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The applet displays multiple routes in different colors. The five most recent routes that have been computed are stored and displayed unless the route has been erased. |