Creating a COM/web interface for MapPoint 2004 to retrieve driving distance

Goal: Windows PC/server running a Microsoft MapPoint 2004 desktop application should receive a query (consisting of a From and a To address) from a remote server using HTTP and return the driving distance using HTTP. One possible implementation: The Windows PC/server would run Apache and have a web page with a form for inputting From and To addresses. The remote server will input the query to the form. A MapPoint 2004 ActiveX/VB Add-on would receive the input from the web form, pass it onto MapPoint, and return the values to the web page. Alternatively, the ActiveX/VB add-on can just use MapPoint's native ability to automatically save maps as web pages, and will save it as a web page. (The remote server will then access this web page). The complicated part of this project (90% of it) is making the Windows Server process the request (everything else is very straightforward). To make the Windows server process the request (i.e. determine the distance between the From and To address) it needs to run a desktop application called Microsoft MapPoint 2004. Microsoft MapPoint 2004 is a desktop application that can give you the distance between point A and point B. But since it's a desktop application the only way to interact with it would be to build a COM/ActiveX add-on component. (It cannot interact directly with the web). The complicated part is passing the query from the web to MapPoint via COM and then getting the info out from MapPoint via COM (or via MapPoint's feature of Save as Web Page). If you want to do this project you need to know VB/COM or ActiveX. You can download Microsoft MapPoint 2004 from eMule or Kazaa to try it out. Once you install it, the help section explains how to build an add-on component to interface with it via VB/COM/ActiveX. If you know VB/COM/ActiveX you can follow the instructions in the application. ## Deliverables 1) Complete and fully-functional working program(s) in executable form as well as complete source code of all work done. 2) Deliverables must be in ready-to-run condition, as follows (depending on the nature of the deliverables): a) For web sites or other server-side deliverables intended to only ever exist in one place in the Buyer's environment--Deliverables must be installed by the Seller in ready-to-run condition in the Buyer's environment. b) For all others including desktop software or software the buyer intends to distribute: A software installation package that will install the software in ready-to-run condition on the platform(s) specified in this bid request. 3) All deliverables will be considered "work made for hire" under U.S. Copyright law. Buyer will receive exclusive and complete copyrights to all work purchased. (No GPL, GNU, 3rd party components, etc. unless all copyright ramifications are explained AND AGREED TO by the buyer on the site per the coder's Seller Legal Agreement). ## Platform Windows XP