Table of Contents
- How do I use RouteLoops?
- What kind of results will be returned to me?
- What is a Cue Sheet ?
- Why doesn't RouteLoops show results on the site?
- What is Beta Testing?
- What types of roads are included / excluded in the route
loops?
- What are the known bugs and deficiencies?
The form on the main
page asks some questions that the program needs in order to run, and
if you fill it out and hit the Get Looped key, that data will be
submitted via e-mail.
The results will be returned via email. Other
than the information in the first table (the address of the starting
location and the length of the desired route) none of the other
information needs to be filled out. Those only need to be changed if you
want to change the default choices.
The two elements that will be returned are a map, and a cue
sheet. The map shows the route, overlaid onto local roads. Only the roads
that are part of the route will be labeled. Depending on how complicated
the map is, we may also include maps of some zoomed in areas. The map will
be returned in JPG format.
Click here to see an example map.
Detailed traveling directions are returned in
what is known as a cue sheet. This sheet, in HTML format, gives
turn-by-turn directions for the route. It has been found to be very useful
to list the streets that the route crosses as well, so these cross streets
are shown between each of the required turns.
Click
here to see an example Cue Sheet.
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Explanation of the Cue Sheet
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| @MILE |
DIRECTION |
STREET |
Miles |
| Keeps track of the accumulated mileage |
Tells the next direction to travel. When it says "After
{#}", this means that this direction should be followed after
crossing this number (#) of cross streets. |
Tells the street on which to follow the current direction |
Tells how long to spend on STREET, after following the DIRECTION. |
| Cross: |
When the row has the word "Cross" in the
first column, the rest of the columns contain a list of streets that
the user should be expecting to cross. That is, the previous row has
a STREET and a DIRECTION. After following that DIRECTION, the
current row's cross streets should be passed before the next
direction should need to be followed. |
This application is in its beta testing phase. Therefore, this website
is not automated, as we intend it to be in the future.
The beta phase of software design exposes a new product, which has just
emerged from in-house (alpha) testing, to a large number of real people
and real usage. We have already been testing the software extensively
ourselves, and we find that it works very well. However, we suspect that
there are still bugs in the software, and improvements that can be made to
make the out put more useful. The purpose of the beta testing phase is to
allow people, via the Internet, to gain access to the application and
provide feedback on how it works for them.
Please submit any errors or feedback here.
Because the routes are intended primarily for recreational use, local,
neighborhood, and rural roads are preferentially used to create the
routes. Primary highways are never used, and secondary roads, like state
highways, are used only when necessary.
- Inaccurate Roads.
At the moment, we are using a US Census Bureau map database known as TIGER/Line
Files. These files are made
available for free, but they do not contain the most up-to-date maps
available. Occasionally, when the program finds cross streets, or
street intersections, these do not reflect reality. We have found this
problem to be a small, but noticeable effect. If the reaction to this
application is favorable, we will correct this defect by using a
commercially available mapping database.
- One-Way Streets
The database being used at this time does not include information about street direction so,
occasionally, the route will include a one-way street heading in the wrong direction. Again, as mentioned above, this defect will be corrected by moving to a new database, if the interest is sufficient.
- Alternate Street Names
Some streets are known by several names. For example, "Main Street" may also be known as "Route 115". The database being used does not have this alternate street name
information.
- United States Only
The database we are using, from the United States Census Bureau, only include information for the United States and US Island Areas. The patent pending algorithm is not limited by geography, but for the time being the only database we have has only these US areas.
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