[Openstreetmap-dev] Re: [Openstreetmap] upload, applet

[Tom Carden]

Immanuel Scholz wrote:
> 
> - an additional data type called "trackpoint" is uploaded which has 
>   nothing to do with "nodes".
> - User has to add nodes, segments and tracks manually via an external
>   client (as in the example here: the applet). 

I would say "nodes, segments and streets", but yes.

> - the "trackpoints" are only a visual guide.
> 

This is correct.  Raw GPS traces are too dense and too noisy to use 
directly as vectors in a map, and they need some processing. 
Trackpoints submitted by two different people might represent the same 
road but differ significantly, so they can't be directly imported as 
nodes and lines.  Currently the processing is manual tracing in the 
applet, but perhaps it could be automated in software (non-trivial) or 
the tracks could be pre-processed  before upload (Nick's preference I 
think, and by the looks of it what your new software will do).

If your software's primary goal is to simplify GPS traces before upload, 
be sure to create nodes and segments and streets using the API. 
However, I would prefer that people upload their GPS logs before 
processing them. If you have any bright ideas about automated processing 
then you should help put those ideas into the OSM clients (or even to 
run them as scripts on the database), but we shouldn't be throwing data 
away (simplifying GPS logs).

But, fundamentally, yes - trackpoints are not the same as nodes.  Glad 
we got that cleared up!

Tom.