Common Questions & Answers
The TatukGIS Developer Kernel (DK) is a full-fledged GIS development component (SDK) supporting a number of development platforms. The TatukGIS Editor is a ready-to-use, highly customizable, general-purpose GIS desktop application developed from the DK. The Editor contains a built-in scripting IDE exposing the full DK object API for the implementation of custom features or additional functionality. In many situations, either product could be used to develop the same custom application or solution. The relative advantages and disadvantages of the DK versus the Editor for custom GIS development are described in knowledge base item KB10868.
Help/evaluation:
- DK-VCL, DK.NET, DK-ActiveX and DK-CF trial versions for evaluation.
- DK product guide.
- Integrated DK help files.
- 50+ DK source code samples provided in Delphi, C++Builder, Visual Basic, VB.NET, and C#.
- Extensive knowledge base (searchable by key words and by product).
- E-mail assistance during evaluation period: sales@tatukgis.com (general questions), support@tatukgis.com (technical/developer questions).
- Free TatukGIS Viewer (developed from the DK-VCL edition) provides an easy way to test support for various GIS data types, performance with large data sets, visual layer property and legend controls, etc.
- DK.NET, DK-ActiveX, and DK-VCL Developer Training Kits (3rd party resource)
Support for licensed users:
- Frequent product updates to fix any bugs relating to supported features, without charge for licensed users with active maintenance. Report bugs to TatukGIS support.
- Product upgrades with new functionality and technologies, without charge for licensed users with active maintenance.
- Consideration of customer requests for new features/functionality.
- Licensed user support via e-mail.
- User forums for communication between DK licensed users.
- Product source code (Delphi) with DK-VCL edition.
- Product training or workshops, telephone support, consulting, etc. can be arranged from TatukGIS VAR partners.
The Developer Kernel (DK) license maintenance is provided on a subscription basis. The purchase of a DK license includes maintenance for the first 12 months. At the end of each license maintenance period, a DK customer has the option to renew the maintenance for an additional 12 months. The license maintenance includes new DK product upgrade and bug-fix update releases, e-mail access to TatukGIS technical support, and login access to the product licensed user forums.
The price to renew the license maintenance for each subsequent year presently costs 40% of the purchase price of a new DK license, if performed before the annual maintenance expiration date. The TatukGIS system automatically sends each licensed customer an e-mail notification of the pending maintenance expiration approximately 30 days prior to the expiration date.
TatukGIS supports and maintains download access only to the most recently available release version (and sometimes also to a beta version). Therefore, any customer choosing to continue development using an obsolete DK product version is advised to keep an appropriate back up copy of that DK product version.
Trial versions of the Developer Kernel (VCL, ActiveX, and .NET versions) are limited in the following ways:
- 21 day trial period from the time of installation,
- 12 minute compiled application running time limit (the time limit does not apply to use of the DK trial version in development mode),
- DBX database joining is omitted (the trial versions support ADO/ODBC joining),
- License agreement forbids use of a trial version for any purpose other than evaluation.
Otherwise, the DK trial versions are fully functional.
The 30 minute application run mode limitation is a reminder that DK trial versions are only for testing and evaluation and are not to be used, for example, to develop a commercial application to completion or prepare a prototype application for commercial presentations. Therefore, we ask that the DK license be purchased (for each developer) relatively early in the process, and not if/when the DK application is already developed and ready to be deployed. We believe that this is reasonable considering that TatukGIS does not participate financially if/when a customer's development project proves successful (because the DK is licensed free of deployment royalties or run-time fees).
Each item listed below links to a knowledge base item with a general description of the DK support for that feature.
The DK-VCL, DK.NET, and DK-ActiveX editions support a number of SQL database map layer formats such as Geomedia SQL Sever, ESRI Personal Geodatabase, OGC SQL, SQLite Spatial, TatukGIS PixelStore, etc. The DK Enterprise edition additionally supports advanced 3rd party spatial database formats such as Microsoft Spatial Server, Oracle Spatial/Locator & GeoRaster, ESRI ArcSDE & ArcSDE Raster, PostGIS, and MapInfo SpatialWare. The support for each layer type is direct, without use of any 3rd party middleware, and includes viewing, editing, querying, export, conversion between formats, and other operations.
Knowledge Base item KB10639 presents a matrix of supported SQL based formats and the compatible database engine(s) for each data format.
Guidance on connecting the DK (and other TatukGIS products) to each supported SQL layer type is presented in Knowledge Base item KB10765.
Although the TatukGIS Internet Server product is the recommended option for GIS web development situations, the DK can also be used to develop GIS web server as well as client-server applications. Refer to knowledge base item KB10456 for more information.
For the DK-VCL edition, TatukGIS provides a special DK-VCL + IntraWeb/VCL component to support the use of the DK-VCL with the IntraWeb development environment. To learn more about the use of the DK-VCL with IntraWeb, visit the Hydroqual Case Study.
Server applications created with Developer Kernel are subject to a per server royalty fee, which is listed as the purchase item "TatukGIS DK Server Deployment Royalty" in the Shop section of the TatukGIS web site. Knowledge base item KB10742 clarifies what is, and is not, a "sever application".
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