Make Search Results Spit out KML (for Google Earth)

[aaronpropst]

Make magazine recently published a project where someone translated wiggle data to kml files.

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/20 ... _to_g.html

http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=secu ... oogleearth

the problem is the wiggle data they were using was coming from Jigle.

Not wanting to run Jigle, i wrote a web interface to your online search form that parses the html page results and returns a kml file which can be opened with google earth. Feel free to try it:
(sometimes it breaks for me in firefox)

http://aaronpropst.com/wigle_query/

It's far from refined, and in the end will probably be broken by changes to the wigle search page html, etc.

Could that results page have an open in 'kml/google earth' format? That way results could come directly from the wigle database to kml.. instead of my kludge: (wigleDB -> html -> internet -> my php -> kml -> internet -> user)

If you need kml creating php code you can use this person's script:
http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=secu ... oogleearth
as an example.

[izzy4505]

There's no need to parse the page. See this:

http://www5.musatcha.com/musatcha/compu ... gleapi.htm

And the wiki page:

http://www.wigle.net/wiki/index.cgi?API

[aaronpropst]

nice! i looked around (briefly) for this and couldn't find anything, so i rolled my own. i'll check that out.

[bobzilla]

aaronpropst: Please check your private message inbox, what you're doing there is in violation of our EULA, because (as opposed to what Irongeek did) this is revending WiGLE data.

Please take down that page, or modify it so that end users login themselves. Building a translator is fine, but building a backdoor isn't.

Thanks much!

[aaronpropst]

ok, it's been removed.

i'm unclear on a few points i guess.

Which part of the EULA did i violate? part 1 of the License Grant? Thats all i can think of.

Adding login info would keep that from happening though?

Thing is.. I didn't pass authentication cookies to your search app.. it apparently returns data whether users have that cookie or not. (php on my server never sent my user info, and the user info isn't in your form fields)

so, it seems that your assertion would be that (according to the eula) multiple users are 'piggybacking' on my authentication information, when in reality, they're simply using none. the backdoor isn't my creation, its yours.. i think.


Is user authentication required to use the api? it doesn't look like it is, according this page:
http://www5.musatcha.com/musatcha/compu ... gleapi.htm

[uhtu]

thank you for taking that down. we're trying to find good ways to allow new and interesting uses of wigle data, but we need to keep those controlled.

the existance of a bug in our site (which has been fixed, or will be fixed shortly) is not implication of a right to do something.

a re-vending site is in violation of the restrictions section of the eula, as well as part 1 of the license grant. As we've stated many times, there is no supported external API to wigle (yet), and izzy's observations are not official/endorsed/supported/etc.

having your site capture people's wigle credentials (by logging in) is probably not a good idea.

[aaronpropst]

no problem. (and i agree about the login thing, it never would have been something i'd have tried.)

If you ever want to extend wigle's search data output directly to kml, let me know, i'd be happy to provide code or development efforts. In the end.. that was my only goal.

thank you for taking that down. we're trying to find good ways to allow new and interesting uses of wigle data, but we need to keep those controlled.

have you really asked yourself 'why' ? google, for instance is a great example of leaving an information system open and accessible for others to build upon. I would say as long as people know where the data comes from, an actual api can do nothing but help spread the word of your project and increase its usefulness. As far as 'control' goes.. that one single hitch.. (credit as to where the data originates) is all i would think you would need.

People profiting from the data is clearly another sticking point. which makes terms like 're-vending' sting a little bit. I had no intention of ever making a dime off of your data, i simply wanted to make it more useful to me.

[uhtu]

please don't misunderstand: we weren't suggesting that you were attempting to profit from the data. but if you're vending it, we're not.

google maintains fairly tight control/rights to their data (go read their terms of service sometime), even if people choose to build systems around it, and ignore their stance on automated access. that being said: we're not google (although a guy can dream). we don't have the resources to throw at things that they do, and so have to keep a tighter bounds on what goes where.

we do realize the interest in building systems around the wigle dataset, and the usefulness of that kind of experimentation (we've got no monopoly on good ideas - although we do hold the patent on bad ones), and we're just trying to find a supportable middle ground.

[Dutch]

(we've got no monopoly on good ideas - although we do hold the patent on bad ones)

FWIW, the Poking_Stick<tm> is one of your better bad ideas

Dutch

[rasqual]

Doing a few searches, I came across this site. I'm a bit amazed that you're not natively doing dynamic data layers yet. All you need to do is accept lat and lon information as http posts or gets from Google Earth, and return records that fall within the viewport as XML, with as much information in the balloons as you wish. With icons visualizing metadata. Etc.

What's up with that? Is that on your horizon? Earth is huge, and will be. Standard interface for data. Count on it!

[Blaze312]

I was just wondering if this has been added yet.

I would really like to observe all the wigle APs in google earth. Don't get me wrong, Digle is a good client. But i am looking to have one program to use for maps and for wifi data at the same time. Its a pain in the ass to switch back and forth to see where to war drive next.... Expecially when your driving down the road.


Thanks

[rasqual]

This is not a rhetorical question, and I'm not trying to be pushy or anything; I'm just honestly curious: why hasn't anyone set up a server-side application to deliver dynamic links in Google Earth yet?

Thanks -

[Dutch]

This is not a rhetorical question, and I'm not trying to be pushy or anything; I'm just honestly curious: why hasn't anyone set up a server-side application to deliver dynamic links in Google Earth yet?

Thanks -

I'll have a go at it, when they release Google Earth for Linux.


Dutch

[rasqual]

??

Is your user base primarily Linux?

[uhtu]

is whose?
wigle hasn't released one because we haven't. that's all.