Wednesday, January 14, 2009

zigGIS Candy

Version 2.0.2 is on its way. The number one requested feature is ID column flexibility. Prior versions of zigGIS required a primary key column named "GID". This will no longer be the case; when PostGIS layers are added you choose the ID column. See the new "Add PostGIS Data" dialog for a better idea:


But wait, there's more! The complete list of new functionality is as follows:
  1. Configurable ID column

  2. Configurable Geometry column

  3. Configurable Geometry type

  4. Native support for views (although views will remain read-only)

  5. Independence from geometry_columns table

It's possible to have mixed geometry types in a single column if DB admins circumvent the built-in PostGIS functions and create spatial tables manually. In these cases the "normal" PostGIS data constraints aren't in place to ensure homogeneous geometry types per geometry column. With configurable geometry types and the geometry_columns table emancipation, zigGIS will now handle PostGIS data originated from any number of workflows.

In a word, zigGIS 2.0.2's major new functionality is "flexibility."