6 replies to this topic

[nickstoner]

Hello all, First Post!

Ok, so I'm working for a small transit company and wish to make my job easier, and possibly obsolete (just hear me out).

I want to develop a piece of software that can handle the following:

1. Get rider's from one stop to another using the same route. Basically it tells them what bus route to get on at what time to get from A to B.
2. Get rider's from one stop to another using multiple routes (Same as above just using two seperate routes, we have different routes for different areas of the city) .
3. Allow rider's to check route stop times (what time bus will be at stop).

That's pretty much it. Can this be done in java, and where can I get more info on the logic involved. I'm thinking it will be much like how mapquest or yahoo!maps gives driving directions.

Help is much appretiated!

[Lop]

Hello nickstoner. Yes, this can be done using Java. I've actually seen it done using PHP or ASP on the web. Very convenient.

The logic will be the same as you would use to figure out manually how to get from one stop to the next. Just think it out and write down all of your steps for instance:

1) Select destination and origination point
2) Are there any direct routes (Decision block here)
3) If yes, select fastest router or only route
4) If no, are their routes to another location that then arrives at destination? (Decision block here)
5) Etc...

You basically have your psuedo code there. From that point you can create a map or even a ticket. You would need to have the information readily available for each route, stops, destinations, time, etc.

Hope this helps.

[G_Morgan]

I'd probably tackle this in terms of a directed graph with weighted edges using some sort of heuristic to narrow the number of vertices deal with by a path algorithm.

The real difficulty is in developing an appropriate data set. The weight on an edge would naturally represent the difficulty of travelling the route (taking traffic conditions, time of day, etc into account).

[WingedPanther]

I agree with G_Morgan, a directed graph is the ideal model for solving this type of problem. This will be a little tricky, but useful once done.

[nickstoner]

I am a university student whose job is transit assistant, i get calls from people wanting to know how to use the system. with this program ill just have to type a few things in to get the route. what i meant when i said it could put me outta work is they could just put this up on the website and riders wouldnt need to call in, but in reality they still need assistants to answer the phone because not everyone would use the program. btw, where can I find more information on directed graphs? I'm new to programming, still trying to find my way around. thanks

[WingedPanther]

The first few hits in Google are all good sources.