Q: What technology is Space built on?

A: Space is a client-server application, with the client (the user interface) implemented as web application. It uses Javascript to provide most of the interactive functionality and communicates with the server via XmlHttpRequest (a common buzzword used to describe this is "Ajax"). The dynamic map component is a Java applet .

Q: Do I have to worry about security?

A: No. All communication with Space is encrypted, the web application only includes content (HTML, Javascript, images etc) created or checked by us (including the cryptographically signed map applet), the server application actively guards itself against mischievous access and the server hardware / operating system / network are explicitly set up with high security as target. Furthermore the application uses only the one single browser cookie required for a usable modern user interface, with no sensitive information stored in that cookie.
That said: The browser settings required for Space (activated Javascript and Java applets) may very well be a security risk when visiting other sites. But since with most browsers it is possible to limit these features to trusted sites, this risk is manageable. 

 
Q: Will Space run on my computer?

A: The best way to find out is to try it: https://www.space-risk.com/ . If that site looks like the screenshot to the right, everything should be fine. If it looks different, please have a look at our troubleshooting page to find out the exact problem.

Q: Shouldn't it Just Work(TM)?

A: In theory, yes. In practice, things sadly are much more difficult. The Space web application has to run in different browsers, with different versions of Java installed, in corporate networks with different (and typically very strict) access restrictions and other security measures. Different browsers have different levels of standards compliance, different ways of interpreting things and different bugs often triggered by seemingly harmless things. Coupled with the fact that the Space web application has to contain a nontrivial amount of functionality in order to provide a sufficiently powerful user interface, all this combines into a source of endless joy and pleasure...

Q: You really can't do anything about that?

A: We can (and we do), but it's a lot of work and can only improve things to a certain extent. We try to minimize the potential for problems, but as long as the application has to run in an environment we have no control over (browser, network etc) there will always be incompatibilities.