GETLIST: Details
Map Generation:
The maps are currently generated by GMT: a set of map tools developed by Smith & Wessel and is available from http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/. To my knowledge, Smith & Wessel of GMT fame are not related to Smith & Wesson, who have developed a set of different tools.
Drawing:
The earthquakes are drawn on the map using the GD Lib tools developed by Tom Boutell, available at http://www.boutell.com/gd/.
Retreving Information:
getlist uses the EWDB C API to get at a list of earthquakes, stations, and parameters, that it uses to determine how and where to display Quakes and Stations.
Webserver:
getlist is meant to be used with a webserver, and as such outputs everything in html, with some javascript for easier web-browser implementation. It utilizes GET/POST CGI-BIN variables to maintain state information.
Map Trees:
At some point, there was a request to have access to multiple Preset maps, the way you have several preset stations on your car radio, in the hopes that you won't have to waste a lot of your time getting from a single default map to your favorite maps. The vision, as I understand it was not just to have a list of several maps, but to have a hierarchal tree of maps, with the world at the trunk, and Parkfield, CA at the end of of one of the branches. This resulted in the creation of a map tree, which could be traversed up and down as desired by the user.