The
SDM recognizes two special classes of client: tools and
managers. A tool is intended to be a simple, general-purpose
client that would be useful in a wide variety of
applications. By contrast, a manager is intended to be a
more complex, specifically-targeted client that would
perform tasks appropriate to a single application or perhaps
a restricted set of similar applications. While these
philosophical considerations are important when designing an
application, what really matters, i.e. what makes a tool a
tool and a manager a manager, is that they follow a
well-defined protocol for interacting with the SDM.
Due to their general nature, tools essentially extend the
functionality of the SDM. To this end, RITI supplies several
tools with the SICOM developer package. These are:
Layer Annotator - designed for annotating a field
of the DBF file accompaning the selected layer on the view.
Layer Classifier - This tool is designed for user
to classify a chosen layer according to an attribute on the
accompanying DBF file.
Layer Prioritizer - This tool is designed for user
to modify the display priority of layers
Feature Selector - This tool is designed for user
to inquiry information regarding a feature
Feature Modifier - This tool is designed for user
to change the position or color of the transient lines and
labels (name) created on the current view.
Surveyor - This tool is designed for user to
measure distance between two points and the bearing.
The developer is free to include as many of these as
desired in an end-user application. The developer can build
and include his own tools exclusively, or include a mixture
of RITI-supplied and developer-supplied tools.
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SICOM