• read often, write sometimes (loose consistency, mostly no ACIDity)

    map bulk retrieval and upload must be efficient

    detailed retrieval and modification

    platform neutral

    RESTfulness (aka elegance)

example: client requests whole map in a particular notation

GET /markup/xml/xpath/ HTTP/1.1
Host: server1.farm.example.org
Accepts: application/xtm+xml
      
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: TMIP server v0.3
Content-Type: application/xtm+xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<topicMap.....