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Data visualization and navigation software
* Thinkmap Studio 1.5 allows developers to create engaging maps for drawing users deeper into online database content
TODAY'S INFORMATION consumer faces the daunting task of slogging through complex corporate and e-commerce databases. Whether they are employees searching a knowledge base for an expert on internal subject matter or consumers browsing an e-commerce site for the right digital camera, users frequently must rely on page-based navigation systems.
Such systems are inherently limiting. A user typically navigates from a category to a subcategory to a specific item in a silo without the benefit of a map outlining the relationships among various categories and items. Without such a map, the information consumer is liable to miss some relevant information during his or her search.
Thinkmap Studio 1.5 seeks to provide a more intuitive and effective means for database navigation. The solution provides a development environment for creating and deploying Java-based Thinkmap applications that display data in highly interactive, animated visual maps.
Thinkmap Studio adds value by encouraging end-users to interact with and explore educational, e-commerce, and knowledge management databases, thereby increasing the chance users will discover useful information. This may result in cross-selling opportunities for e-commerce companies, quicker retrieval of pertinent information for knowledge management users, and greater interest and retention of information for educational users.
Once created, a Thinkmap application can be compiled and stored on a Web server. Any end-user with a Java-compatible browser may then access the Thinkmap application, which requires little or no training to begin working with it.
As a user clicks on data objects within an application, the application interacts with the Thinkmap Application Server (TAS) via HTTP or HTTPS (secure HTTP). The TAS, which deploys a Thinkmap to end-users, sends queries to any Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)-compliant database. The Thinkmap application is...