Microsoft MapPoint Web Service

The Microsoft MapPoint Web Service is a programmable web service hosted by Microsoft. It is accessed using SOAP requests. Capabilities include map creation, driving directions, and proximity searches. The Web Service includes a database of more than 15 million points of interest, and customers can upload their own datasets. There's a lot of functionality, and it is ideal for both mobile and web applications. Coverage includes North America, South America, and Europe. Microsoft claim over an uptime exceeding 99.9 percent.

In contrast to the desktop products, the Web Service is purchased on a subscription basis. There is a free 45 day trial available for developers, and the MSDN Universal subscription comes with a free one year trial.

Microsoft maintain their own MapPoint Web Service information pages.

Further Reading

Published in January 2006, Chandu Thota's Programming MapPoint in .NET book is the only book covering Microsoft MapPoint Web Service programming. This book is strongly recommended, and also includes chapters on the desktop version of MapPoint, the Microsoft MapPoint Location Server, and Microsoft Virtual Earth.

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