At 07:32 AM 01/29/1999 -0500, Laurence Glasco wrote:
>I have noticed the tremendous amount of traffic on the list, with 99.9% of
>it devoted to MapBasic questions and techniques. I can't figure out what
>the need is for such controls. Are they for people with dynamic maps,
>such as weather maps, that change with incoming real-time data? Is there
>any advantage of MapBasic controls for socio-demographic-political maps?
>And why the tremendous traffic -- is MapBasic *that* difficult, or is
>it so new that people are in a steep learning curve?
Actually, I think the MapBasic questions may be more like 20% or less, but
anyway, why would you want MapBasic? Here are some ways I use it. BTW, I was
one of those people who went about two years without MB thinking I didn't need
it.
* If you do any kind of map production, where you grab data from some source,
have to geocode it, create a thematic for it, print several different views,
etc., you can automate it.
* If you pull data from strange sources, like having to ferret out data in
e-mail messages from a server (I use the tropical cyclone activity data that
comes in about 5 different e-mails 4x daily) and turn that into information on
maps, you can automate it.
* If you have data you wish to translate, import in batch, or other bulk
processes. For instance, I had DOQQ's that were not georeferenced. A MapBasic
application easily referenced the corners of the images to the corners of the
USG quad grid for the scale I was using. Replaced 2 weeks of hand-registering
with 2 hours of programming.
* If you want to create custom menu items for an easy interface to your tasks
or custom functions to delegate to others, it can do it.
I don't see how I went so long without MapBasic now. I just wish it were
included in the base price of the system (even if the base price were raised a
small amount).
Steve Wallace
GIS & Market Information Manager
Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Companies
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