File based geodatabase and ADO.Net

In our applications, we use Access based Personal GDB files to cache data in order to limit network read/writes and also improve performance by doing processing locally. The best thing with Access was ability to use Jet OleDB provider and ADO.Net to read/write and do complex math on our data. That way we are not limited to use relatively slower and limited functionality ArcObjects. However, the problem with Access is the delay in flushing data. We would insert some data to a table and sometimes this data would not be flushed to the mdb file, hence immediate reading of the table would not return the just inserted records.

As we are investigating other options, I liked the idea of file based gdb in ArcGIS 9.2. However, the limitation is inability to use ADO.Net Oledb provider to access data. ESRI Oledb provider can be used for reads (no inserts and deletes), but there is no documentation if it supports file based gdb. My wishlist for ArcGIS 10.0 would be for ESRI to extend the ADO.Net Oledb provider and give native access to ESRI geodatabase data.

.Net Coding Guidelines

This is an excellent white paper on .Net coding guidelines. I couldn’t have written it better. A must read.

Delay sending mails in Outlook 2003

We all have experiences where we send emails (particularly in replying to our managers on client questions) and then realize, the clients should not have been in the cc list. In such cases, adding a delay to any sent mail is very beneficial, in case we change our mind and wish to make edits.

To add a delay, go to Tools –> ‘Rules and Alerts’, add a new rule –> ‘Check messages after sending’, then add the delay time you wish to use. From now on, whenever you send a mail, the mail will reside in the Outbox for the delay period before it is sent.

ArcGIS 9.2 SP1 now available

The first service pack for the ArcGIS 9.2 release is available for
download. For a detailed list of issues addressed and to download the
patch, visit the appropriate page—ArcGIS 9.2 SP1, ArcIMS 9.2 SP1, or ArcSDE 9.2 SP1.

Happy New Year 2007

This is Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. May all your resolutions get fulfilled!