Tech trends: The objects of our desire
- Article 3 of 3
- GIS Europe, January 1999
GeoEurope investigates the benefits that objects bring to our mapping systems.
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Autocad doesn’t have quite the Java integration of MicroStation/J, the former simply being able to run Java programs from its AutoLisp prompt line. MicroStation/J has an entire set of Java objects that more or less duplicate MicroStation’s capabilities; you can access these objects from your own Java programs. Since many other programs, including the enterprise resource planning system sap, now offer similar capabilities, you can use Java applets to link MicroStation/J to these programs, without having to rewrite or recompile your applet to take account of different operating systems at either end. Yoav Etiel, senior vice president at Bentley, describes this as “enterprise engineering”.
The more ubiquitous use of Java is on the Internet. While gis companies can gamble that their customers will be Windows-users, the Web offers an equal playing field for unix and Mac os users. Even if they could, ActiveX (or Distributed com), the networked version of com, has proven unpopular and a potential security risk to unsuspecting Web surfers, so Java has become the main standard for networked applications.
Autodesk’s forthcoming MapGuide 4.0 shows how even those committed to a Windows desktop can change their policy for the more open Web. MapGuide 3.0 is available on the client-side only as a plug-in for browsers running on Windows 95, 98 and nt. MapGuide 4.0 will enable servers to send a Java applet to browsers so they can process the same data as browsers using the plug-in, no matter what platform they’re running on. Joe Astroth, Autodesk’s vice-president for gis, explains “We chose to develop superior technology for pc users first and then broaden our audience reach with a Java viewer.”
Since no one format is dominating both Web and desktop, the Opengis Consortium is wisely choosing to set standards for both Java (via corba, another networked object system which has proved of limited popularity) and dcom. While gis programs based on Java objects (known as JavaBeans) will not be able to talk to those based on dcom objects or vice versa since their messaging systems are different, they will be able to talk to programs based on the same object formats and Opengis standards. At the moment, the Consortium is still working on these standards, although specifics have already been approved for letting objects tell each other how to manipulate simple features such as lines. The first programs to support these initial standards are almost ready to appear on the market.
As more companies move towards using object-oriented technology in their programs and further Opengis standards are approved, the life of the average gis user will be improved by the removal of unnecessary obstacles caused by the “monolithic” programming techniques used to create yesterday’s and some of today’s software. Objects won’t be the total panacea some people believe they are, but they will at least smooth the way to creating an environment where you don’t have to keep employing more technology to overcome the limitations of your existing technology.
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