A distributed POI data model based on the entity-component approach

Point of interest (POI) information is commonly utilized in different location-based services, which are becoming more popular due to widespread adoption of GPS-enabled smartphones. This paper presents a distributed and modular data model for representing POIs. In addition, RESTful service architecture for accessing the POI data is described. The design of the POI data model is based on the principles of the entity-component model, which allows partitioning the POI data into separate components that are linked to a POI entity. The performance of the POI data model was evaluated in terms of data volume, client-side data parsing time and client-side memory consumption using a mobile web application. The POI data model was also compared with an existing POI implementation. Based on the measurements, the ability to select only relevant data components was found very important feature for achieving good client-side performance.