OCTranspoLive: A live OCTranspo GPS bus location application for ...

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1.2.3 OCTranspo Developer APIOCTranspo on March 22nd, 2012 opened its live GPS bus location API to developers.I registered for an API key and registered OCTranspoLive as an application using myaccount. The API uses HTTP requests and responses as the data delivery mechanism.The responses are returned as XML[3]. This is less than ideal and JSON would haveprovided a much better data format. JSON is an easier data format to work withconsidering libraries are already built-in to Android and the key-value structure makesnavigating a response much simpler. One can register for an OC Transpo Live NextBus Arrival Data Feed API key at http://www.octranspo1.com/developers.1.2.4 MySQL DatabaseMySQL is a very popular relational database management system (RDBMS). Thismeans it includes not only the database itself but all the management tools.Forthis project a database was needed to allow me make queries on the data providedby OCTranspo. The data itself is several les of plain text and not very useful onits own. It is the database of choice for a new generation of applications built onthe LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP / Perl / Python)[4], and as I hadexperience installing and managing MySQL installation it was an ideal choice.1.2.5 Google Maps APIGoogle provides their Map library for use on the Android platform. Using the AndroidSDK Manager in Eclipse Google Apps for Android can be downloaded allowing accessto the Maps library. When congure this allows us to use com.google.android.maps.MapViewin layouts. This is used in the MapViewActivity which is detailed in a later section.Using the Maps library we can then draw custom overlays on top of a map. This is10
done to draw bus stops and bus location in the Android client.2 MotivationLike most public transportation systems, the service in Ottawa relies on public roads.Athough estimates can be made, stop schedules cannot provide accurate arrival timesfor buses as trac conditions dictate the true arrival times in the end. Since movingto Ottawa at the beginning of my undergrad I've experienced the main frustrationshared by most Ottawa public transportation riders I've spoken with; never knowingwhen the bus will come. Many of my friends and roommates over the years havecomplained about this aspect of the service. I always thought that there should be abetter solution than consulting the static timetable provided by OCTranspo only togo outside and wait 30 minutes for you bus when it was scheduled to arrive 5 minutesafter you got to the stop. I thought if I could make an application that would provideapproximate arrival times then I could be sparred from the weather. In winter I couldgo inside a coee shop near the stop and grab a warm coee, and in the summer Icould purchase a cool beverage and enjoy it in the air conditioning while waitingfor the bus to arrive. So, having purchased an Android smartphone about a yearago, I thought an application to address this problem was the ideal candidate for myupcoming honours project.3 Goals and ObjectivesMy motivations outlined in the previous section provided me with a set of featuresI desired the application to have. With these in mind I was able to deconstruct theapplication into separate components and from there provide myself with a list of11
Page 3: AcknowledgmentsI would like to take
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Page 18 and 19: arrival times for. Upon pressing th
Page 20 and 21: Figure 5: Travel Planner4.1.5 Plann
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Page 24 and 25: sActivity.Figure 9: Preferences usi
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Page 28 and 29: could easily add more resources to
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Page 34 and 35: 7 ReferencesReferences[1] http://de
Page 36: An emulator can be used but the app

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