Annsi,
Sir, I don't quite know how to respond.
I am sure that you weren't accusing me of being dishonest. As is usually the
case, figuring out 95% of the format was fairly straightforward. Figuring out
the rest, and building a supported commercial product around it that developers
could build into their products, was not trivial.
As a matter of fact, we do have one small issue to figure out before we could
release "write" functionality. It has to do with the scheme for calculating
the "displacement" as part of the double=>long conversion and scale factor
calculation. It would be great if you could publish your work so we wouldn't
have to reinvent the wheel.
I don't know how to respond to your "...but isn't that like making money on
someones 'intellectual property'" thought. Wow.. I'll have to think on that
one for a while.
Congratulations on your efforts - Are you looking for a development position
with a dynamic, innovative company?
Jeff.
>> Jeff,
>> Just to be honest, Mapinfo native file format isn't quite that
complicated
>>
>> you suggested. It is very straight forward and beatiful structure. I
>> understand that you got a product to sell, but isn't that like making
>> money
>> on someones 'intellectual property'.
>> A year ago I spend a weeked on terrible backache and instead of working
on
>>
>> crossword puzzles I was able to figure it out the main parts completely.
>> Basicly I'm happy to share my notes on format, if you guys find it
useful.
>>
>> If it isn't illegal or anything, personaly I would find it handy in
>> Mapinfo-L archive.
>> Any thoughts, suggestions? I'm sure Mapinfo people have some opinion on
>> that too?
>> Regards,
>> Anssi
>> -----Alkuperainen viesti-----
>> Lahettaja: Jeff Cole [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>> Lahetetty: 16. maaliskuuta 2000 22:44
>> Vastaanottaja: MAPINFO-L
>> Aihe: re[2]: MI mif2tab.exe ?
>> Bill,
>> As you may know, Blue Marble has completely figured out the native TAB
>> file
>> format. Our TAB Reader (a COM Library) product reads native MapInfo TAB
>> files directly. More info is at
>> http://www.bluemarblegeo.com/products.asp?id=15.
>> To anyone who wishes to engineer the format, good luck to you and have
>> fun!
>> It took one of our best engineers several hundred hours to do it, with
>> fairly significant pain. Our effort was completed with full knowledge of
>> MapInfo. They were very supportive of the effort (especially when they
>> discovered that the Blue Marble TAB file specification document was
>> perhaps
>> more comprehensive than theirs) as their intention was never to support
>> their MFAL solution as a "product". They have referred many TAB Reader
>> customers directly to us.
>> At this time, paying customers are not lining up for a TAB create/write
>> tool, most are looking to support reading the TAB format directly in
their
>>
>> applications. Our guess is that the don't need the complete
functionality
>>
>> of a mapping component. Blue Marble could surely support the
create/write
>>
>> of TAB files within our TAB library if we could justify it. Anyone out
>> there - let us know if your interested.
>> Jeff
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >> I asked once. A few years ago the answer was no. I hear that a
>> >> licensed DLL kit does exist, but it's not open to the general
>> >> public, and it comes with a whopper price tag (naturally).
>> >> However, I don't believe anyone can copyright a data format
>> >> anyway (or ESRI, MapInfo, AutoDesk, and Integraph would have sued
>> >> each other to death already), so if you can figure it out you
>> >> could probably use it without any problems. Good luck figuring it
>> >> out. Only a few illuminati know how, and they all think the
>> >> others haven't got it right yet. I have noticed that interest in
>> >> this format has really increased in the last few months, so I
>> >> guess the genie is just about out of the bottle anyway.
>> >> Just out of curiousity, if you could buy it, what would people be
>> >> willing to pay for a DLL or ActiveX tool that would provide the
>> >> ability to create and direct read/write access to MapInfo TAB
>> >> files?
>> >> - Bill Thoen
>> >> Neil Havermale wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> > There is a better answer to all of this. I would suggest you
>> contact
>> >> > MapInfo's Developer Services and ask about access to TAB....
>> >> >
>> >> > MidNight
>> >> > 3/16/00
>> >> >
>> >> > -----Original Message-----
>> >> > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>> >> > Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2000 12:40 PM
>> >> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >> > Subject: Re: MI mif2tab.exe ?
>> >> >
>> >> > Mats Elfstrom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> >> > "On 01/04/99, the Midnight Mapper asked: Anyone out there
>> interested in
>> >> > building a shareware MIF2TAB.exe?"
>> >> >
>> >> > And Mats replied:
>> >> > Well, I just discovered that someone has.
>> >> > Visit http://pages.infinit.net/danmo/e00/index-mitab.html for
>> downloads
>> >> and
>> >> >
>> >> > more information. I cannot vouch for the functionality of this
>> stuff,
>> >> but
>> >> > it
>> >> > passed a simple back and forth conversion test.
>> >> > ## end of quoted material ##
>> >> >
>> >> > I downloaded the material Mats discovered and recompiled it to
>> produce a
>> >> > Windows DLL using Borland C++ Builder 4. (I just can't stand
>> having
>> to
>> >> work
>> >> > in a DOS command line!) Here is my "take" on the software:
>> >> >
>> >> > 1. The code is a very good start, but it is unfinished in several
>> >> respects.
>> >> > For example, the functions it provides are "read/create" rather
>> than
>> >> > "read/write." Thus you can create a TAB file from a MIF/MID, but
>> you
>> >> can't
>> >> > open a TAB and add new objects to it. You (apparently) have to
>> convert
>> >> the
>> >> > TAB to a MIF/MID using the Tab2Mif, delete and/or add updated
>> objects
>> >> (in
>> >> > MIF/MID format), then create the updated TAB using Mif2Tab.
>> >> >
>> >> > 2. The software (apparently) doesn't do any "intelligent"
grouping
>>
>> of
>> >> > objects. Thus the objects appearing together in an object block
(a
>>
>> type
>> >> 2
>> >> > record) are not contained in some minimal bounding rectangle (as
>> they
>> >> are in
>> >> >
>> >> > a TAB built by MapInfo itself).
>> >> >
>> >> > 3. The conversion from external floating point coordinates to
>> internal
>> >> > integer format is based on the minimum bounding rectangle of the
>> >> contained
>> >> > data rather than limits that allow arbitrary coordinates anywhere
>> on the
>> >> > ellipsoid. Thus, if you use MapInfo to update a TAB created by
>> MITAB you
>> >> > will
>> >> > find that no data can be added outside the bounding rectangle of
>> the
>> >> > original
>> >> > data. (Fortunately, fixing this problem in MITAB is rather
>> simple.)
>> >> >
>> >> > However, given these reservations, I believe this is an excellent
>> start
>> >> > toward an "open" set of software for working with data in Mapinfo
>> >> "native"
>> >> > format. And, of course, just having a Mif2Tab and Tab2Mif
>> capability
>> >> (albeit
>> >> >
>> >> > experimental) is a big step forward in itself.
>> >> >
>> >> > Robert Edwards
>> >> > The MapTools Company
>> >> >
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>> >> >
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