Neil,
I think you're definitely on to something with this. I think the key to making
this work will be convincing Oracle to develop a Spatial Lite cartridge to work
with 8i Lite and the MapInfo suite of tools. The developer community has been
waiting a long to time to get the spatial data out of the TAB format and into
something more useful, and the latest Oracle Spatial implentation seems to
really fit the bill.
As for developer environments, don't forget Java. Oracle has jumped head first
into the deep end over Java and MapInfo is definitely following suit. I have
heard rumblings about MapInfo marketing the MapJ Java component in much the same
way as they market the MapX OCX. Whatever your personal feelings about Java
might be, MapInfo and Oracle are going to be pushing developers in that
direction. I wonder if MapX developers will soon be grumbling about MapInfo
abandoning them with pointless upgrades while focusing all of their energy on
this new fangled Java stuff! At any rate, I like to think that only good things
can come from the MapInfo-Oracle partnership, but I also remember having similar
feelings when I heard that MapInfo had partnered up with Microsoft for Excel
Map. I guess like everything else all we can do is make sure MapInfo hears what
we have to say and then just wait and see. So if you're listening MapInfo, get
on the ball with this Oracle Lite and Spatial Lite idea!
Gary.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put
"unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
