Question:
Is it possible also to access the online service "Snow Load, Wind Speed, and Seismic Load Maps" digitally via API or Webservice?
Answer:
Yes, the online service "Snow Load, Wind Speed, and Seismic Load Maps" offers a background webservice for determining location-specific loads without opening the website.
The webservice can be used for all load maps from the visible online service and is controlled by a URL address. In this case, an external process (your application) sends a request URL address to our server (Dlubal) and receives the load information in the CSV format. To ensure that the process works, the URL address must contain all specifications for defining a load type, standard, geolocation, output language, and user. The final URL is then composed of these components.
The load type and the standard are defined by the "map" component. The first part describes the load type (for example, snow, wind, or earthquake), and the second part describes the standard (for example, din-en-1991-1-3).
→ map=snow-din-en-1991-1-3
The geolocation is defined by the "place" or "position" component. The "place" option acts as the search option in the visible online service. The geolocation is defined here by the search terms, address, and so on. The "position" option defines the geolocation by using the geographic coordinates in the format [latitude in °, longitude in °].
→ place=messe, düsseldorf
→ position=51.2624991,6.735927199999992
The display language of the results is defined by the "language" component. The language is defined by an abbreviation (de - German, en - English, and so on).
→ language=en
The identity of the user is defined using the "login" and "hash" components. The "login" component describes the user's email address and the "hash" component describes a hidden password. To ensure that the login works, it is necessary to save the email address in a valid Dlubal account. The associated "hash" component can be sent by Dlubal upon request.
→ hash=xyz
A request URL can finally be generated from these components and sent to our server.
→ <p>https://external-crm.dlubal.com/loadzones/data.aspx?map=snow-din-en-1991-1-3&place=messe, düsseldorf&language=de&[email protected]&hash=xyz</p>
After having sent the data, the server returns the requested load information in the CSV format.
A Geo-Zone Tool package is required to send the load queries to our server without restrictions. The Geo-Zone Tool package includes a specific allowance of load queries. Each query reduces the number of available requests purchased in the package.
Since the webservice debits the purchased quota, careful handling of the identity components and the request URL is necessary with regard to data protection. For example, you must ensure that your program does not disclose the request URL with identity components to unauthorized third parties.