I think it's worth having a thread specifically for those interested in contributing to the CHM replacement project (which might be called Map Your Travels, we'll see) to state or re-state that interest. I know many have already done this in the old CHM forum or in our original thread here, but let's get it in one place.
If you're interested, what technical expertise do you have, which parts of the project are you interested in contributing to, and how often do you expect to have time available?
We'll need project management, general programming (likely in Unix environments), web development, database design, database implementation, algorithms to analyze the data, review and maintenance of existing highway systems, development and review of new systems, and I'm sure many other things. On the web side, I think we're likely to have general HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, whatever tools interface with the database, Google Maps API, other tools to draw maps, and probably more. I don't think it makes much sense to develop within a framework like Drupal or WordPress, but maybe others disagree.
For my part, I hope to contribute in all areas, but I hope to be able to contribute most in overall project management, the interaction with the Google Maps API, algorithms to analyze the data, and, once we have a working system in place, to help improve, maintain, and expand the highway data. My database experience is fairly limited, but I think it's enough that I could help with the design and implementation of the databases that would underly the system.
My time availability will vary greatly with my teaching and other work schedules, but summers are likely to be the best in terms of finding significant chunks of time to work on things. I can justify some work time on the project as I continue to use its data in an academic setting for teaching graph data structures and algorithms. I will also try to recruit a few students who would be interested in contributing in the context of an independent study course or other project.
As noted before, I'm interested but my talents don't match up with our immediate needs. My limited experience with HTML (I keep things really basic for my websites, with no JavaScript or PHP) is of no help. I know a little about domain management -- indeed two of my sites appear to be hosted by the same company CHM uses -- though Jim and perhaps also other team members also have their own domains.
Where I can help most is with new systems development and review, and training of new team members. I currently have on my plate two state route systems under development (one nearly ready for review, once we restart that process), and can also help with updates in other states/provinces as needed (such as Quebec, which needs a lot of catch-up work).
My time availability fluctuates a lot, mainly with my travel schedule. I'm planning a lot of time on the road between late May and late July. But since I'm retired, I have lots of time available when I'm not on the road, subject to some other interests which should not interfere.
I'd like to help with the project if possible. Though I mostly work with Java, I'm pretty familiar with JavaScript and HTML. Of course, my schedule may limit me somewhat from now until June.
I've got a lot of experience in HTML, PHP, Javascript, jQuery, MySQL, etc, but my main focuses are for AARoads, so I'm not entirely sure how much I could contribute, since AARoads work already tires me out a good deal at the end of the day.
I'm good with HTML/CSS/PHP/MySQL. I could probably help with the core website and database; I'd also be capable of highway system work. My time varies each week, but my roadtrip load isn't as heavy as it was last year, and I'll be updating NYS Roads at a slower pace now that I got through my exit list backlog.
I have little programming/coding experience, so I won't be of much help there. I could assist with project management (having been with the project since the get-go), but I think my main area of assistance would be with maintaining route data and developing new route systems.
My only involvement has been to be a proofreader of sorts for the Virginia State Highways data that has not yet been added to CHM. Not the behind the scenes coding but what the actual user sees - are the points labeled correctly? Is a point missing? those kinds of things.
The only state remaining to need adding (based on CHM availability) that I could be considered knowledgeable enough to do this with no problem is South Carolina. If needed I could likely put together the actual data set for SC, based on an example in a previous post, it doesn't look super difficult to learn the desired format:
Start http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.168087&lon=-4.477819
A1/A2 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.155687&lon=-4.501305
A5 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.155976&lon=-4.501841
A6_E http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.161366&lon=-4.504952
A6_W http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.161881&lon=-4.506884
A26 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.177105&lon=-4.554455
A23 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.183836&lon=-4.565935
A1/A3 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.202730&lon=-4.629149
A20 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.210373&lon=-4.630373
+X01 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.219331&lon=-4.630566
BraRd http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.260512&lon=-4.581513
+X02 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.274146&lon=-4.579496
A4 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.280986&lon=-4.588122
+X03 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.301326&lon=-4.567909
A10 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.309776&lon=-4.541345
A14_N http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.319452&lon=-4.491863
A17 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.323031&lon=-4.472895
B14 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.319978&lon=-4.446287
A3/A18 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.322168&lon=-4.386742
A2_N http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.321054&lon=-4.385262
+X04 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.312893&lon=-4.385004
+X05 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.312893&lon=-4.376206
+X06 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.305858&lon=-4.381614
+X07 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.278080&lon=-4.443412
A14 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.250847&lon=-4.463110
B10 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.242660&lon=-4.471972
+X08 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.213786&lon=-4.479547
B12 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.207436&lon=-4.466522
+X09 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.195738&lon=-4.477444
A21 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.183108&lon=-4.475470
A2/A18 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.171742&lon=-4.467809
Finish http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=54.168087&lon=-4.477819
Mapmikey
I'm still game to help out on the data end. That, as well as with a forum (if we go the SMF route later).
Quote from: Mapmikey on March 29, 2015, 07:18:41 PM
The only state remaining to need adding (based on CHM availability) that I could be considered knowledgeable enough to do this with no problem is South Carolina.
What about Tim's states in the Mid-Atlantic, such as MD and PA, at least for maintenance and updates? You seem to have been expanding your travels well beyond Virginia lately.
I think he was referring to states that don't have state systems online yet. As for PA/MD, James is from Pennsylvania, so I would anticipate he'd cover PA for a reboot. Not sure offhand for MD...perhaps we could bring Mike Pruett or Laura onboard?
I'm not necessarily opposed to doing the updates for PA/MD as long as it wasn't particularly necessary that I have the ability to field check the information people provide.
I also have no idea if the person who started the SC set on CHM is among the folks still available going forward, but am willing to put together the data set if that position has been vacated...
Mapmikey
Has anyone gotten a hold of Jeff Morrison? He handles Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, (Michigan?), (Dakotas?), (Missouri?) and If I'm correct his online presence is not here.
EDIT: If no one's able to, I can handle these. (I'm sure Froggie still has Minnesota :sombrero:
As far as programming is concerned, I've got extensive development experience. However, given that's my day job, I am not going to volunteer my time to that except to test routing files. Sorry, but 40-60 hours a week is enough :awesomeface:
Quotereview and maintenance of existing highway systems, development and review of new systems
I volunteer to do this.
I call all existing regions in Eurasia, as frankly I've done a lot of the work already!
I'm willing to offload all my lower-48 holdings when their state system is ready to go, but I believe MrMojave called dibs. AZ, CO, MT, NV, OR, UT and WY. (AZ and NV can be handed over now, though there's uningested updates that are (save exit numbers on US routes) the only changes I've made from Tim's work, and MrMojave can just pick up UT as he's done the state system).
I also have PR, but their territory roads network is crazy. I've made a (US) Virgin Islands territorial routes system, but I have no clue as to whether they are signed.
I code for a living (mostly .NET and JavaScript, although I have good experience in PHP from past jobs), but my availability will vary a lot.
Quote from: SSOWorld on March 30, 2015, 07:02:21 AM
Has anyone gotten a hold of Jeff Morrison? He handles Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, (Michigan?), (Dakotas?), (Missouri?) and If I'm correct his online presence is not here.
EDIT: If no one's able to, I can handle these. (I'm sure Froggie still has Minnesota :sombrero:
I can take the Dakotas, if someone will show me how to do waypoint files.
I have a very high knowledge of Indiana's highways, but little/no technical experience in translating that knowledge to any sort of usable database, though I'm willing to learn.
I've got a decent knowledge of Illinois highways in the northern 1/3 of the state and Wisconsin highways in the eastern 1/3 of that state (and a nice chunk of the NW 1/4 of the state). I can't program, but I'm willing to do data input (once I'm shown). I can't say that my availability will be good after mid-to-late summer, but until then I've got some time.
I should toss in my hat to get this off the ground, data gathering and maintenance. I can generally take care of west coast areas (including BC), prefer Oregon.
If you desperately need help with OK/MO/KS I might be able to help, but if someone else wants dibs I'll yield to them (I don't have a whole lot of time so I don't want to definitively lock it down).
I might be able to contribute here and there. I do know programming (Java/C/C++/C#), databases, and some back-end server stuff. As far as roads, I'm most familiar with Southern California. I also founded the U.S. Roads project on Wikipedia, and served as a Wikimedia steward for a year (user rights, dealing with spam and trolls and other sensitive/difficult issues).
However, my work on Wikipedia takes up a lot of my free time; I just had to cut back on some of my responsibilities there, so I'm reluctant to promise a regular commitment right now.
I've been doing software development for quite a while; most of my experience is C++/Java. My bigger interest in helping is with the data and/or discussing algorithms/efficiency, as my availability is somewhat limited until the first weekend in May. But I'm willing to work on the coding side, if my skills can be useful there.
Nick
There's probably some use. Our current .list file parser is in C++.
I haven't officially weighed in in this thread yet, so here goes...
• Project management: Sure. I've been here since the beginning, and have a good solid understanding of what's involved.
• General programming (likely in Unix environments): "general programming" sounds vague enough, so I'll tentatively raise my hand. Hey, I'm running two flavours of Linux! :)
• Web development: other people's abilities surely exceed mine. But I may be able to offer some JavaScript / GMaps API / HB pointers & tweaks...
• Algorithms to analyze the data: I anticipate things will likely be written in PHP, which I'm not fluent in. But it has been on my backburner of things I want to learn, and maybe this project can help in that. I can probably suss things out to some degree by looking at examples of code. I can also see myself contributing by discussing things in pseudocode -- although my pseudocode looks like C++. :)
• Highway system maintenance and development: I've continued to maintain the systems in AR, CT, KS, ME, ND, NE, NH, OK, RI, TX, and VT in the USA, and AB, MB, NB, NL, NS, and PE in Canada. Some new systems are forthcoming in these regions as well.
I'll also volunteer for review of new and existing systems, and am open to discussion of potentially reworking the way we do things WRT Peer Review.
• As Oscar noted, I could also help with training of new team members, but I'm hesitant: with less time availability on my plate as when I was at my previous job in/before 2013, I may not be able to keep up with the commitment very well.
• On the web side, I know some basic HTML and have picked up some JavaScript recently. I've dabbled with the GMaps API over the years as well, and made some HB type applications for my own use. I may be able to assist in getting a new HB running.
Of particular interest, I developed a JavaScript map generator with some help from vdeane. I shared the code with SSOWorld and he made some improvements, but I haven't really done any work since January 2nd. Nonetheless, it's a solid proof of concept, and a good ways toward implementing maps in the final product.
Since I live here now, I would like to take over Vermont.
Quote from: Jim on March 29, 2015, 01:40:33 PM
If you're interested, what technical expertise do you have, which parts of the project are you interested in contributing to, and how often do you expect to have time available?
Primarily C/C++, and bash and Python shell scripting in Unix environments. I am passable in Java but it takes me longer to get things done in that language than more seasoned Java people. I don't do a lot of UI -- mostly back-end and mid-level stuff. I do have some database experience but I tend to defer to more expert DB folks when I need to.
The states I'm probably most knowledgeable about are all the New England states, NY, MD, and northern VA. I'm less familiar with the rest of VA, NC, DE, and NJ but have more experience driving and navigating in those states than in others. If any of you are familiar with Waze, I'm an Area Manager in north-central Maryland and I also try to participate in MapRaids.
My schedule is going to vary widely depending on my workload at work and my volunteer commitments. I tend to work on road stuff when it's a slow workday or (as today) our VPN/Firewall is down.
I'd like to keep Utah, and would be fine "holding" Nevada and Arizona. Could assist with other western states as well.
It looks like I'll be moving to Wyoming by the end of the summer. I can't claim to be an expert on the roads there, but I'll probably have a better handle on the situation there than some other folks. As always, I've got no programming chops, but I can do data entry.
Now that we have more of a start on some building blocks for the new travel mapping system, I think it's time to start coordinating some activities so we can make the best progress as a group. I'll continue to have a little time for a few more weeks, then my time will become much more limited first by some travel and then it will be time to ramp up preparation for teaching in the fall.
It looks like the majority of volunteers are on the highway data side of things, which we'll need, but I don't think we're quite there yet. I think we need to make a priority out of moving data to our new format, and having the support tools in place to draft new and update existing routes, including a highway data editor and error checks for the data. Also need to report possible errors and have a way to record the known false positives. We should also agree on and write out our new version of the rules to maintain good data quality (waypoint naming, spacing, which routes get included in which kinds of systems, etc.) and to come up with a way to allow many people to contribute and maintain quality through peer review.
I'm happy to take on a good amount of the responsibility for core data processing but I expect there are some others who will be better suited to manage the rules and the actual data. It makes sense to me for some of the core data contributors from CHM to take that lead.
If it can wait until late July, when my major summer travels will be done, I can take on creation of an instruction manual for creation of new route files and route systems. That could ease the process of "learning the ropes" by new contributors, and put more of the process in writing to make it less necessary for them to ask for help.
We could use this to tweak the old CHM instructions. Some issues that come to mind include breaking up routes at short ferry crossings, locally-maintained segments of state/province/etc.-designated routes, and treatment of unsigned routes (or unsigned segments of otherwise signed routes). Any changes I would propose would be open to discussion, here or in a separate new Travel Mapping forum. Other suggestions, for things to change where the old instructions or other rules caused heartburn, would be welcome.
Quote from: Jim on June 18, 2015, 01:20:17 PM
I think we need to make a priority out of moving data to our new format, and having the support tools in place to draft new and update existing routes, including a highway data editor and error checks for the data. Also need to report possible errors and have a way to record the known false positives.
When we get to the 'FP' part, hopefully we can have a check for intersections that are XXX off from each other when they shouldn't be (like in PA the US-40/I-79 interchange because it has different coordinates for each route when it shouldn't) so we can fix that when necessary and then mark the rest as 'FP' when that's needed because of trying to avoid false multiplexes.
I agree with James and Si; I'd like to see Near-Miss Points flagged too.
WRT rules/guidelines/HowTo, why not just start off with the existing Manual Tim wrote, and look into any additions/clarifications that
may be needed there, and any heartburn related changes too. (One that bugged me that I was ultimately too tired to fight back on was 3-letter county suffixes for county roads; I think they should be allowed. (Yeah, after making (Jeff, was it?) go thru all that trouble changing them... :ded:))
Quote from: yakra on June 21, 2015, 09:31:07 PM
WRT rules/guidelines/HowTo, why not just start off with the existing Manual Tim wrote, and look into any additions/clarifications that may be needed there, and any heartburn related changes too. (One that bugged me that I was ultimately too tired to fight back on was 3-letter county suffixes for county roads; I think they should be allowed. (Yeah, after making (Jeff, was it?) go thru all that trouble changing them... :ded:))
My plan was to start with the existing manual, and try to improve it.
One improvement I'd make, as a practical pointer to new team members, is to strongly suggest starting new route files by stealing as many points as possible from existing routes, to make sure they synch up; then set the points for intersections with other routes in the new route set, so those points can be swiped for those other routes' files.
We can set up a separate thread on this topic, once I get to work on this.
Quote from: yakra on June 21, 2015, 09:31:07 PM
(One that bugged me that I was ultimately too tired to fight back on was 3-letter county suffixes for county roads; I think they should be allowed. (Yeah, after making (Jeff, was it?) go thru all that trouble changing them... :ded:))
Yes, I was the one who was going to suffer for that. However, it appears/I hope my procrastination paid off! (Never did it.) I'd like to keep the Wisconsin and Missouri naming conventions I have.
Not just you, but me too...though since I all but dropped CHM at the time between deployments and Tim's obstinance on Vermont, he wound up doing the work for Minnesota.
Florida partially had this problem as well when I occasionally ran across duplicate CR's with the same number. A lot easier to be able to use the 3 letter County abbreviation when needed (since the county name is on the shield!!) instead of finding a city name near by or '_A'.
While I think the three letter county abbreviation idea had some merit, it never quite cut it for me. I'm looking at Kansas and Nebraska here, with their patchwork of A/B/C/1/2/3 Rd/St/Ave, Rd/St/Ave 1/2/3/A/B/C, both cardinal & ordinal numbers, Arrowhead/Brown/Comanche Rd, and every other conceivable combination. This never seemed all that adaptable to the (prefixed) abbreviation approach; in my mind its asking to be treated like any other ordinary local road name. Thus making the _suffixes useful.
When I initially created the Minnesota lists (because guidance wasn't clear at that point), I worked out a "gentleman's agreement" with Tim whereby if the point was within a town or village, I used the name of the town or village, otherwise I used the county name. My only potential conflict would've been with MN 28 (Stevens and Stearns Counties), but I don't believe it was an issue.