Another method we are considering for interactive access to CARA's data is to use ArcView2 through the CARA Web server. The attraction of ArcView2 is its programmable user interface and its direct access to the data, unmediated by a Web-CGI program. Based on a parameter supplied by the user through an HTML form, ArcView2 is run on a computer at ICE and displays to the user's X Window terminal. We plan to enhance this system using Avenue to customize the interface to the particular data involved, to prevent the user from changing the database, and to enforce any necessary data security. The few preliminary tests by users located outside of California indicate the amount of network traffic or the number of X resources needed by ArcView2 at the user's end may lead to reliability problems with this method.
Further testing is needed.
Despite the difficulties encountered, we feel the use of ArcView2 over the WWW has great potential for opening up CARA's data to a wide audience. A related Web technique we plan to use is the ability to query non-GIS databases from the Web. They are kept instead in a regular database management system. We propose to use an SQL server to answer queries about the data submitted from the Web server. Other ICE activities entail a number of non-spatial databases that also plan to use this same technique.