The Spatial Object Controller (SOC) makes possible the seamless
integration of spatial information held in existing systems
without costly migration or translation of data, ensuring
the maximum return on investment. It also supports more flexible
working practices, allowing different business units to share
one another's information and still manage their own database
locally rather than access a single, central server over a
network.
Smallworld's SOC extends the ways in which information from
diverse sources can be integrated within the Smallworld 3
environment. It provides seamless access to spatial objects
from multiple separate sources within a single client. This
free use of externally generated data is achieved by encapsulating
each source of spatial information using a Spatial Object
Manager (SOM) plug-in module.
The SOC/SOM combination means that an application developer
working in the Smallworld environment can build, for example,
query and analysis applications across a wide variety of data
sources by depending on off-the-shelf components for access
and data management. The application does not need to address
the internal details, formats and structures of legacy or
external data. Instead common, high level protocols that cover
all data sources can be used. New SOM plug-ins can be added
in the future without impact on existing applications.
