Mapserver Plug-in Infastructure: RFC and PATCH

[Frank Warmerdam]

On 8/17/05, Jani Averbach <javerbach at extendthereach.com> wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> This proposal (and patch) provides plug-in infrastructure for layers.
...
> The second phase could be that we remove all those switch
> statements and use this vtable also for internal layers.

Jani, 

I am supportive of your proposal, and would like to see the vtable
used for internal layers as well.  In fact, I think I would prefer to 
see it incorporated for existing layers types in the first implementation
rather than as a second pass. 

I see each "built-in" module such as mapsde.c providing a registration
function such as "msSDEInitializeLayerVirtualTable" so that none of
the layer type specific definitions need to appear in map.h any more.
As you note all the msLayer operations that are now switches, would
become simple calls into the vtable.  

We would likely need to modify the build structure so that problematic
layers types (like SDE, and Oracle) could be built as external plugins
instead of builtins. 

Best regards,
-- 
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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
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