Programming MapPoint in .NET

Chapter 9. Programming Microsoft Location Server

While MapPoint 2004 and MapPoint Web Service both provide APIs to understand location information and process location data, Microsoft Location Server provides an ability to integrate real-time location into your application to provide location-based applications and services; to that end, Microsoft Location Server transcends into a real-time location platform that answers the basic question “Where am I?”

Location-based services are provided to a user based on his real-time location and can range from a simple service, such as listing nearby restaurants, to more complex features, such as analyzing real-time traffic conditions and finding the least congested route to a destination. For location-based services to work, a locatable device, such as a wireless mobile device or a pager, is usually necessary to identify the user’s geographical location. In essence, location-based services are all about identifying the best and nearest possible service based on where the user currently is.

Developing location-based services conventionally is tedious and expensive because GPS hardware and software are required. However, with the Microsoft Location Server, you don’t need a GPS device to find your real-time location; you can find your location (or your customer’s location) using a mobile phone number.

In this chapter, I will discuss the inner workings of the Microsoft Location Server in detail; at the end I will go over the installation process ...