The Platform and the UI Database

To a user, Maptitude is a program like any other Windows program. To a GISDK developer, however, Maptitude has two distinct parts: the platform and the user interface (UI).

• The platform is the core set of geographic information system (GIS) and database management system (DBMS) capabilities that are used to make maps and perform analysis.
• The user interface (UI) is the set of menus, dialog boxes, toolbars, and toolboxes that provide a user with access to these capabilities, along with the GISDK instructions that are followed when a menu item, toolbar, toolbox, or dialog box option is chosen.

The platform is contained in the executable program file (mapt.exe) and the various dynamic link libraries (DLLs) and other files that support it. The UI is stored in a database, called the UI Database. The UI Database for Maptitude is named gis_ui and contains the following files: gis_ui.dbd, gis_ui.1, gis_ui.2, gis_ui.3, gis_ui.4, gis_ui.5, and gis_ui.6. The platform and the UI Database are inseparable -- each one is useless without the other.

When you create GISDK applications, you create your own UI Databases. When you run an add-in or custom application, you are combining the platform with your own UI Database. You choose the UI Database you want to use when you install an add-in or custom application, or by modifying the command line that starts the platform.

You can use the GetInterface() GISDK function to get the name of the UI Database that a specific macro, or the currently running macro, is in.