Vanderbilt Campus Map Components

The raw images used in displaying the map are stored in 3 different 8 bit BMP files, each representing a different zoom level. There is also a thumbnail sized version of the map, used in the upper left hand corner of the image the user sees.

Campus Map Images			(thumbnail)	The raw images used in displaying the map are stored in 3 different 8 bit BMP files, each representing a different zoom level. There is also a thumbnail sized version of the map, used in the upper left hand corner of the image the user sees.
Image Map of 24X image			The highest level zoomed image (24x zoom) is associated internally with an image map. This map is consulted when the user clicks in the map at the highest zoom. This is how the appropriate building file is located.
Individual Building HTML files			Each building in the map has an HTML file associated with it, possibly with links to more information about that building. What is special about these files is that they are processed  by the script so that the 'back to main map' link is placed in the file by the script while it is generated. This allows these files to be created and changed without tedious attention to the proper "return" URL.
Main display Template			The main HTML document displayed when viewing the map is itself a template. It is a valid HTML document which contains all of the layout and "look and feel" information. The script reads this template and performs substitions on special URL names to include the proper URL's for the images. By keeping it a separate file, and not one generated from within the program, the designers can change and add information by just editing the HTML.
CGI program			The CGI script was written in C++ and used various classes for 8 bit BMP file access, creation of GIF files on the fly, and parsing and retrieving information from the area map. The GIF code was based on the gd library.  The behavior of the program is controlled via parameters which are specified through the query mechanism.