Lecture Notes for Clarke, K. C. Analytical and Computer Cartography
Lecture 18: Writing Cartographic Software
The Programming Environment
With a little thought and planning, however, computer programs that produce
maps and map-based analyses can be made to work, and to work well, without
the hours of grueling work now known as "hacking." (Clarke, p. 304)
- Design
- Group meetings
- Brain storming
- Story boards
- Modularization
- Language
- Schedule
- Checking and validation
- Use and update
- User Manual
- Implementation
- Makes use of the programming environment
- Software tools to assist development
- CASE
Language Bindings
- Link between language and a standard
- Set of C language calls that do or prepare for graphics
- Primitives and attributes
- Draw actions, delay etc.
- Control of interaction tools, pick, select etc.
The User Interface
"The success or failure of a piece of cartographic software is determined
not by innovation, sophistication, or accuracy, but instead by usability."
- Simplest form was the command line (e.g. MicroCAM)
- Next more complex is text based menu (e.g. terrapin)
- Next is exclusive choice menu with graphics. (e.g. MacChoro)
- Most sophisticated is multi-element GUI-based system e.g. XV, CorelDraw,
ArcView
WIMP Interface
- Windows
- resize
- rescale
- iconify
- window=process
- Icons
- Drag and drop
- OLE/OpenLook etc.
- Closed & open processes/multitasking
- Menus
- pull down
- pull right
- pop up
- messages
- Pointers
- Mouse
- Focus
- Point and click
- I-beam and Cursor
- Rubber band
- select
- highlight
Future User Interfaces
- Ifan Shepherd (1994) "Multi-Sensory GIS: Mapping out the Research Frontier"
Advanced in GIS Research (6th Int. Sym. on Spatial data Handling).
- "It is argued that GIS users would benefit in many ways from being able
to exchange information with the computer using multisensory GIS."
- Makes the case for Multisensory GIS
Keith Clarke Last Change 6/3/97 Copyright Prentice Hall, 1995