00001 /*! \mainpage Introduction
00002 <div class="mainpage">
00003 <!-- This is the index.html page that the user first sees. -->
00004
00005 <p>The Feature Data Objects (FDO) API provides access to data in a
00006 data store. A provider is a specific implementation of the FDO API
00007 that provides access to data in a particular data store. The FDO
00008 Provider for ODBC provides FDO with access to an ODBC-based data store.
00009 </p>
00010 <p>The FDO Provider for ODBC can access simple x, y, z
00011 feature objects that can run in a multi-platform
00012 environment, including Windows, Linux, and UNIX.
00013 </p>
00014
00015 <p>The FDO Provider for ODBC has the following characteristics:
00016 </p>
00017 <ul>
00018 <li> The FDO Provider for ODBC supports the definition of one or more
00019 feature classes in terms of any relational database table that
00020 contains an X, Y, and optionally, Z columns.</li>
00021 <li> Metadata--that maps the table name, and X, Y, and optionally, Z
00022 columns to a feature class--is maintained outside the
00023 database in a configuration file. This information, in
00024 conjunction with the table structure in the database,
00025 provides the definition of the feature class.</li>
00026 <li> The x, y, and z locations of objects are stored in
00027 separate properties in the primary object definition of a
00028 feature, but are accessible through a single class
00029 property Geometry.</li>
00030 <li> Read-only access is provided to pre-existing data defined and
00031 populated through 3rd party applications (that is, FDO
00032 Provider for ODBC will not be responsible for defining the
00033 physical schema of the data store nor for populating the object
00034 data).</li>
00035 <li> The schema configuration of the data store is
00036 provided to the FDO Provider for ODBC through an optional XML
00037 file containing the Geographic Markup Language (GML)
00038 definition of the schema that maps tables and columns in
00039 the data store to feature classes and property mappings in
00040 the FDO data model.</li>
00041 </ul>
00042 \note
00043 Microsoft Excel (must have at least one named range; do not use DATABASE
00044 or other reserved words as a range name)
00045
00046 <p>For more information about setting up an ODBC data store in AutoCAD Map 3D
00047 2008 and configuring Excel for database ranges, see the 'Managing Data' topic
00048 in the <i>AutoCAD Map 3D User's Guide</i> (acmap.chm).
00049 </p>
00050
00051 <p>For ODBC, only a point geometry (X, Y, and optionally, Z columns define a
00052 point) is supported. The default column names are X, Y, and Z, but when you pick
00053 the columns to represent these, you override the defaults. In AutoCAD Map 3D
00054 2008, this information is stored in the map file itself, so if you go through
00055 the same process in another map, you will need to override the settings again
00056 in the same way.
00057 </p>
00058
00059 <p>There is no spatial indexing. Object locations are stored in separate
00060 properties in the object definition.
00061 <p>
00062
00063 <p>The existing schema is used, and you cannot add, change, or delete it, nor
00064 can you add FDO metadata to the data store.
00065 </p>
00066
00067 <p>When you set up a Data Source Name for your ODBC data store (by adding a DSN
00068 in Windows), you will need to specify certain configuration options, depending
00069 on the type of ODBC data store you use. The connection information (Login ID
00070 and password) you enter here is used only for defining the DSN, and not at
00071 connection time with the ODBC provider.
00072 </p>
00073
00074 \note
00075 For MySQL, make sure you have installed the MySQL driver from MyODBC 3.51.
00076 You can find it at http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/odbc/3.51.html.
00077
00078 <p>
00079 For more information, see <i>The Essential FDO</i> (FET_TheEssentialFDO.pdf)
00080 and the <i>FDO Developer's Guide</i> (FDG_FDODevGuide.pdf).
00081 </p>
00082
00083 <br>
00084 </div>
00085 */
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