VE and Windows Presentation Foundation

I have been taking a close look at Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) in Visual Studio 2008 and particularly the inbuilt graphics support. What struck me was what a perfect platform for a VE control with a .Net API.

What has realy got me fired up is the support for vector graphics and that a WPF application can either run in a browser or a winform. Equaly as the application is running as a binnary it should be possibly to write your own XML parser in .Net instead of JavaScript thus getting round the security issue regarding cross domains.

What may be extremely significant is that WPF opens the way for VE to be developed, where large numbers of polygons/pushpins etc can be plotted without the performance limitations currently being experienced.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has explored this and what their views are, and this could be something for the VE development team to consider.

Duncan Garratt

Thank you John I had a look at those and they look very impressive but as with a Winforms control they all use the browser control and are basically a wrapper for the underlying VE API. My own VE Winform control works in exactly the same way.

My question was somewhat loaded and a prompt to the VE development team for a native VE WPF control where the VE API is native .Net rather than JavaScript and AJAX. Although we are still all learning WPF and it is still very early stages for this technology, the thought of the performance gains when plotting and rendering large numbers of pushpins/polygons etc is extremely tempting. However these gains can only be achieved where the map tiles and graphics are directly drawn onto the canvas of the control. In this respect the control would have to be an http client where the control rather than a browser contained within the control is calling the map tiles.

My personal opinion is that a native VE WPF control would be an excellent showcase for Microsoft not only for VE but their WPF technology. Equally with MS SQL 2008 soon to be released and with a VE WPF control available, it would place Microsoft in an extremely competitive position not only in terms of leapfrogging Google maps in technological terms but as serious challengers to the traditional GIS vendors.

Duncan Garratt