ArcGIS Engine Developer Guide

BUILDING APPLICATIONS WITH ACTIVEX
The scenario could have been written in any other COM development environment
that fully supports ActiveX including Microsoft Visual C++ and Microsoft
Visual Basic for Applications. Visual Basic, while not providing all the functionality
of a development environment such as Visual C++, was chosen because it
appeals to a wider audience. Whichever development environment you use, your
future success with the ArcGIS controls depends on your skill in both the programming
environment and ArcObjects.
The MapControl, PageLayoutControl, TOCControl, and ToolbarControl are used
in this scenario to provide the user interface of the application, and the
LicenseControl is used to configure the application with an appropriate license.
The ArcGIS controls are used in conjunction with other ArcObjects and control
commands by the developer to create a GIS viewing application.
DESIGN
The scenario has been designed to highlight how the ArcGIS controls interact
with each other and to expose a part of each ArcGIS control’s object model to
the developer.
Each ActiveX ArcGIS control has a set of property pages that can be accessed
once the control is embedded within an ActiveX container. These property pages
provide shortcuts to a selection of a control’s properties and methods and allow a
developer to build an application without writing any code. This scenario does
not use the property pages, but rather builds up the application programmatically.
For further information about the property pages, refer to ArcGIS Developer
Help.
The ArcGIS developer samples are not included
in the typical installation of the ArcGIS Engine
Developer Kit. If you do not have them installed,
rerun the Developer Kit Install wizard, click
Custom or Modify, and click the samples feature
under Software Developer Kit.
REQUIREMENTS
To successfully follow this scenario you need the following (the requirements for
deployment are covered later in the ‘Deployment’ section):
• An installation of the ArcGIS Engine Developer Kit with an authorization
file enabling it for development use.
• An installation of the Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 development environment
and an appropriate license.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Windows operating systems and a working knowledge
of Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0. While the scenario provides some information
about how to use the ArcGIS controls in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, it is
not a substitute for training in the development environment.
• While no experience with other ESRI software is required, previous experience
with ArcObjects and a basic understanding of ArcGIS applications, such
as ArcMap and ArcCatalog, are advantageous.
• Access to the sample data and code that comes with this scenario. This is
located at:
\DeveloperKit\samples\Developer_Guide_Scenarios\
Building_an_ArcGIS_Controls_Map_Viewer_ApplicationVisual_Basic.zip
Chapter 6 • Developer scenarios • 283