computer science

TimeMap

TimeMap is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand TimeMap rather than just read about it. In short: TimeMap Java is an open-source web mapping application, which was one of the first such applications to introduce generic time filtering and map animation on the web. TMJava is a comprehensive Java mapping applet which can run as a standalone application with local data, on a web site or as a two tier application with a backend server and independent metadata clearinghouse, supporting distributed data sources.

Key takeaways

TimeMap belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect TimeMap to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of TimeMap from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

TimeMap Java is an open-source web mapping application, which was one of the first such applications to introduce generic time filtering and map animation on the web. TMJava is a comprehensive Java mapping applet which can run as a standalone application with local data, on a web site or as a two tier application with a backend server and independent metadata clearinghouse, supporting distributed data sources. TimeMap developed out of work on mapping historical and archaeological data, starting with animated maps in 1995, a Windows mapping tool in 1997, and TMJava from 2001. Funding came from numerous sources but in particular from the Australian Research Council (Sydney TimeMap project, 2000–2002) and from the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (1998–2005). TimeMap is available as open-source on SourceForge. TimeMap's Windows tool, TMWin, is a metadata development and map building tool which publishes interactive maps to a website using data referenced in the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative's metadata clearinghouse.

Capabilities TMJava can be used to develop interactive maps for web sites, for intranet enquiry systems, for museum and visitor kiosks, and for standalone CD-ROM products. In addition to static datasets, TMJava can connect with databases which are being actively updated or with live data feeds. TMJava includes legend and layer management features designed to handle complex maps and large datasets, with incremental loading that provides additional levels of detail as users zoom in.

Applications TimeMap's is used as the core technology to number of applications, including:

Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative Clearinghouse Search TMJava provides map-based spatial searching of the ECAI clearinghouse of cultural datasets and background geographic data. The search includes the Rumsey Map Collection, one of the largest digitised collections of historical maps in the world. Search results can be overlaid and displayed in the TMJava map interface, as well as through WMS and Macromedia Flash (.swf) views.

MacquarieNet Atlas of Indigenous Australia TMJava is used by MacquarieNet's Atlas of Indigenous Australia (free access) and Explore Australia (subscription) interactive maps. Users can display and overlay the many thematic maps of the Atlas.

UNHCR refugee resources mapping A TMJava-based CDROM was developed in 2006 by UNHCR to map refugee resources and refugee camps in Liberia. Poster 2006 by Yann Rebois, UNHCR and CartoONG, Simplified web map version

Community Adversity and Resilience A TMJava-based CD-ROM accompanying Professor Tony Vinson's important 2004 Community Adversity and Resilience report on behalf of Jesuit Social Services to the NSW and Victorian governments.

References

External links Archived official website (now usurped) Digital Innovation Unit University of Sydney

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with TimeMap

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what TimeMap claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to TimeMap before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about TimeMap ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of TimeMap

In research: TimeMap appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses TimeMap in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: TimeMap is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics GIS software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for TimeMap outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study TimeMap in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what TimeMap means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain TimeMap out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is TimeMap in simple terms?

Why does TimeMap matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study TimeMap?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on TimeMap.