KB10868 - DK versus Editor for custom GIS development.
Advantages and disadvantages of the TatukGIS Editor versus the TatukGIS Developer Kernel (DK) for custom GIS development.
Advantages of the TatukGIS Developer Kernel (component).
- Royalty-free application deployment to computers and servers. (The Editor involves per user or run-time licensing - with volume price discounts.)
- More powerful for high level custom feature development or embedding GIS features into another software application. For example, a new class can be added to the DK API, which is not possible in the Editor.
- More efficient code (than is possible with Editor scripting), potentially resulting in better performance with complex feature implementations.
- Ability to develop in a language of choice (C#, VB, VB.NET, Delphi, C++, Java) using a preferred technology (VCL, FMX, .NET, Java Swing + NetBeans or Eclipse, ActiveX).
- Ability to develop custom applications for multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android, etc.). (The Editor is a Windows application.)
- Appropriate also for developing the server side of client-server applications.
- Possibility for source code access. (The Editor source code is not available.)
Advantages of the TatukGIS Editor (with scripting):
- Lower up-front license fee to get started.
- Self-contained development environment, so no need for 3rd party development suites (like Microsoft Visual Studio, Delphi, etc.).
- Fully customizable user interface and powerful (Basic and Pascal) scripting IDE exposes within the Editor the powerful DK object-oriented API for developing custom features or additional functionality as plug-ins that are easily deployed to other users.
- Lower development costs and shorter development time because:
- starting point of development is the already existing TatukGIS Editor, a well seasoned, general-purpose GIS desktop application developed from the DK and reflecting its features.
- development work can be performed by a less skilled developer or even GIS power user.
- Lower future software maintenance costs because more of the maintenance is performed by TatukGIS.
- An Editor based custom application may include the built-in scripting environment exposing the DK API. (The DK licensing forbids use of the DK to develop an application that exposes the DK API, such as via scripting.)
- Built-in support for advanced spatial databases (PostGIS, MSSQL Server Spatial, Oracle Spatial & Oracle GeoRaster, ESRI ArcSDE & ArcSDE Raster, PostGIS, IBM DB2 Spatial Extender, etc.) at no additional cost. (Spatial database extensions for the DK cost extra.)
- Perfect for ad-hoc and in-house applications and for prototyping applications later developed to completion using the Developer Kernel.
- Though licensing is user based, substantial volume discounts make large deployments affordable.
Created: August 19, 2011, Modified: March 05, 2019