Building New Tools Outside the Browser: A New Look at Custom Stand-Alone Applications for Earth Data Access and Visualization

Today, the debate between online services and installable applications is often characterized as an either-or, winner-take-all situation. In the earth sciences, however, due to data handing and visualization needs, a combination of online, service-oriented architecture (SOA) tools and custom installable applications holds the most promise if these data resources are to be used by a greater and more diverse user population. The Data Information and Application Layer (DIAL) technology demonstrates the value of custom application authoring for earth data access and visualization. The relative merits of online tools and custom applications are discussed as well as their complementary uses by various user populations.