The Web ADF provides a generic framework to integrate multiple data sources
into a single application. This framework, termed the Common API, is a
set of classes and interfaces that provide an extendable architecture for
custom data source developers. All out-of-the-box data sources
supported with the Web ADF are essentially "custom" in the
sense they implement parts of the Common API to expose data
source capabilities for use by the Web ADF controls and APIs. The
Common API class and interfaces are contained in the
ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.DataSources assembly. The type and capabilities of
the data source determine which how the Common API will be
used. For data sources that provide map data, there are two
types of data sources: Map Feature data and Map Image data. A sample
illustrating the implementation of both custom data source types is provided
here:
Common_CustomDataSource.
- Map Feature data: Features stored, managed and rendered in the Web-tier. If a map image containing the feature data is created, the Web-tier application must provide the logic to generate the image. In the Web ADF the Graphics resource does this for you.
- Map Image data: Data stored, managed and rendered in the Server-tier. A remote server either generates a new map image (dynamic) or provides a pre-generated map image tile (static).
