Nepherte/bing-proxy

bing-proxy is a Java proxy servlet for the retrieval of Bing™ Maps imagery metadata. The returned imagery metadata includes the urls and dimensions for imagery tiles, ranges of zoom levels, and imagery vintage information.

The latest version is 1.0.0, released on April 26, 2019:

Installation

Follow these steps for a stand-alone installation of the proxy servlet:

Download the latest release of bing-proxy
Deploy the war on your application server
Insert your bing maps key in the web.xml

Prerequisites

The proxy servlet relies on an application server that is compliant with the servlet 3.0 specification. An example server that requires little to no configuration is Apache Tomcat. The supported versions are 7.0.x and higher.

The proxy servlet makes use of the Bing™ Maps API. The usage of this API requires a key. If you do not have one, read this page for more information. Basic keys are available at no charge that provide a limited number of transactions per year.

Configuration

bing-proxy adheres to the servlet 3.0 specification and uses the @WebServlet annotation to facilitate deployment. The servlet is registered under the name bing-proxy and mapped onto the url /bing.

Init parameters

The proxy servlet requires the presence of two init parameters (url and key) in your web deployment descriptor (web.xml). Failing to do so will result in a ServletException. Consider the following minimal configuration:

<servlet>
  <servlet-name>bing-proxy</servlet-name>
  <servlet-class>be.nepherte.bingmaps.BingProxyServlet</servlet-class>

  <init-param>
    <param-name>url</param-name>
    <param-value>http://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Imagery/Metadata</param-value>
    <description>the bingmaps metadata url</description>
  </init-param>

  <init-param>
    <param-name>key</param-name>
    <param-value>YOUR_KEY_HERE</param-value>
    <description>the bingmaps api key</description>
  </init-param>
</servlet>

Servlet mapping

To map the proxy servlet onto a different url, add a <servlet-mapping> to your web deployment descriptor (web.xml):

<servlet-mapping>
  <servlet-name>bing-proxy</servlet-name>
  <url-pattern>/bing</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

Usage

The proxy servlet supports HTTP GET requests. It accepts the optional parameters mapType, culture and output. The default request looks like http://example.com/bing&mapType=Aerial&culture=en-US&output=json.

Map type

The mapType parameter specifies the type of imagery for which you are requesting metadata. Allowed values are Aerial, AerialWithLabels and Road. In the absence of this parameter, the servlet defaults to Aerial.

Culture

The culture parameter specifies the language and/or region to use. For an exhaustive list of supported values, see Supported culture codes. In the absence of this parameter, the servlet defaults to en-US.

Output

The output parameters specifies the format of the server's response to incoming requests. Allowed values are xml and json. In the absence of this parameter. the servlet defaults to json.

Nepherte / bing-proxy