Re: [udig-devel] Supporting custom file types in uDig

[Gabriel Roldán <groldan@xxxxxxxx>]

Hi Harald,

The following advise is from my experience, so do not take it too seriously :)

In general, to add support for a new vector based format, it is desirable to 
start by implementing a GeoTools DataStore.
There is a tutorial on how to do it for a sample format in .properties files 
at http://docs.codehaus.org/display/GEOTDOC/05+Creating+a+DataStore+Tutorial

Even though you do can make your own uDig plugin to handle your format without 
having to implement DataStore, there are a couple advantages in doing so:
- you get out of the box rendering capabilities. Otherwise I guess you'll have 
to implement your own renderer for your data model
- you also get out of the box querying and editing capabilities (as far as you 
implement transaction support in your datastore)
- access to your data gets a wider audience than uDig itself (as geotools is a 
widely used library)
- some uDig tools that works for DataStore/FeatureSource/FeatureStore will 
work for you (for example, spatial operations)

I'm sure I'm missing a lot and might be wrong in some else, but that's what I 
would do if I were in your shoes...

cheers,

Gabriel


On Monday 18 June 2007 14:51:37 Wellmann, Harald wrote:
> I'm in the process of getting started with uDig, after having worked
> with JUMP for about 2 years. Our intention is to use uDig to render some
> proprietary GIS file types and database schemas and maybe as a spin-off
> to contribute some plugins to the community, as long as  they do not
> involve our corporate IP.
>
> As an "easy" exercise, I've started implementing a WKT plugin, based on
> the bits an pieces of information I could find in the Developer Guide
> and by copy&pasting code from the Shapefile plugin. It seems to work
> now, but I probably missed a number of design issues, and I stumbled
> over a couple of gaps or inconsistencies in the documentation.
>
> What is the best way to share some of my experiences and to help others
> in writing plug-ins for their own file formats?
>
> Some questions and ideas:
>
> - For issues with the existing documentation, both Javadoc and separate
> documents, should I send them to this mailing list or submit reports in
> JIRA?
>
> - I'm offering to submit the WKT plugin as example code, and I would
> appreciate if some of the experts would have a look at it to make sure
> that it complies with the intended uDig design.
>
> - I could contribute a Howto or Developer Guide section on creating a
> plug-in for a custom file type.
>
> Thanks in advance for any feedback.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Harald Wellmann
> Team Leader Map Conversion SW
> Telematics & Navigation
>
> HARMAN/BECKER AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS
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