Why use an HTTPS site instead of an FTP site?
• There are a number of reasons HTTPS has been chosen. First, it provides each agency the ability to query the provider’s service for the information it wants. Example: Whether you wish to query data for the past hour or for the last two weeks, it is within your control. You can get what you want however often you want; this would be very cumbersome to accomplish using FTP. The HTTPS/XML model allows for future expansion of the XML standard to support new information, while still supporting the original standard. This means a request for aircraft positions using AFFXML Version 1.0 would still work, while at the same time we would be able to request a AFFXML Version 2.0 from the same server, which could potentially contain aircraft avionics data such as fuel, retardant drop, etc. This is very important as new and better tracking equipment is developed and integrated into our mobile resources. This then allows technology to move ahead while still maintaining backwards compatibility. HTTP
