How does IMO work?
IMO is written using Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts. This approach generates each page a user sees on the fly, pulling together data from USGS data files and data entered by the user. This is how IMO responds quickly and incorporates information provided by the user in an interactive way. IMO shows data exactly as it is in the USGS data files, for example, the codes for scale and map type. These codes cannot be “translated” on the fly, so links have been included to indicate what these codes mean. Likewise, users must edit the order data before it gets to the Shopping Basket, because it cannot be changed at that point. The data used in IMO is automatically downloaded weekly from the main database that supports USGS map sales and inventory management operations. Orders submitted to IMO are handled automatically by the system; they are received and preprocessed only moments after their submittal, and they are “picked up” by the system three times daily for actual processing into
