OziAPI-Java

OziAPI-Java is a Java library which provides access to the OziExplorer API from Java. OziExplorer is a GPS mapping application which allows you to work with maps on the computer screen. The maps are created from scanned or digital maps.

For details of OziExplorer see the OziExplorer homepage at http://www.oziexplorer.com.

The documentation for the OziAPI-Java library can be found here, and the library itself can be downloaded from the project page on SourceForge. Also available is the source code, either as a release bundle, or via anonymous CVS access.

For details of the underlying API used by this library, see the OziAPI documentation at http://64.71.184.220/oziapi/oziapi.html

OziAPI-Java features and benefits

Unlike the underlying OziAPI DLL, OziAPI-Java will accept either lattitude/longitude or grid references as parameters. This makes it very easy to perform coordinate conversions, for example:

BNGGridRef bng = new BNGGridRef("SK 12345 67890");
UTMGridRef utm = new UTMGridRef(bng);
LatLon latLon = new LatLon(bng);

This library also provides full access to all the OziAPI callback functionality - using this part of the OziAPI often causes problems such as random application failures and crashes, a significant proportion of the code in this library is concerned with providing reliable, thread-safe access to the OziAPI callback functionality.

Applications that use OziAPI-Java

The following applications use OziAPI-Java:

OziGeoCacheUK: OziGeocacheUK integrates information from GeocacheUK.com and Geocaching.com into OziExplorer. GeocacheUK is a database of geocaches in the UK. When OziGeocacheUK is running and enabled it intercepts mouse clicks on the map loaded into OziExplorer and fetches all wayponts withing a specified radius of the clicked position. The searching is done with the database held on GeocacheUK.com.

More information about OziGeocacheUK can be found on the application web page, and the application itself can be auto-installed via Java Webstart by clicking on this link.

The source of OziGeocacheUK is available from the OziAPI-Java project page on SourceForge.

Using the OziAPI-Java library

The OziAPI-Java library can be obtained in either binary or source form from the SourceForge project page. Documentation on how to install and use the OziAPI-Java library can be found in the javadoc documentation.

Copyright and License

Getting help and reporting bugs

You can report bugs and request assistance using the facilities provided on the SourceForge project page.

Building OziAPI-Java yourself

OziAPI-Java uses JNI (C) code to interact with OziExplorer. The library was built using NetBeans as the IDE and the MinGW C compiler. I have written several blog posts on how this is done, I will be collating this into a developer's guide at some point in the future. Contact me through the project page on Sourceforge if you are desperate to get started :-)