1. Lesley Bross, August 29, 2010 ArcGIS 10 add-in glossary

2. Glossary add-in API ArcObjects assembly CLR COM C#.dll IDE.NET framework object-oriented project reference SDK VBA Visual Basic XML

3. add-in New ArcGIS 10 feature for desktop developers/users Allows packaging of a collection of customizations (toolbars, menus, windows, etc.) into a single file Doesn’t require installation or COM registration; Uses ArcGIS add-in manager Created with XML configuration files along with.NET or Java implementation classes

4. API Application Programming Interface Many software packages provide an API for developers to customize the software API authors expose selected items; Usually not everything Most API’s are published; They serve as a dictionary for developers; Start here ArcObjects is an API for ESRI software

5. ArcObjects The API for ArcMap software Available for both client and server Many different languages – VBA (soon to be retired) – C++ – Python –.NET (C#, VB) – Java – Web clients (Javascript, Silverlight, Flex, etc.) Different languages expose different elements; None expose everything

6. assembly A compiled group of.NET code modules that can be used by client programs and built upon by developers Compiled means humans can’t read it Also known as libraries ESRI provides assemblies to be used as the foundation for customizations

7. CLR Common Language Runtime Foundation of the.NET framework Handles low-level execution environment for code Common between C# and Visual Basic

8. COM Component Object Model Software components using this model can communicate with each other Predecessor to.NET but.NET can still use COM components ArcObjects COM API exposes more functionality than add- in Pure COM model requires components to be added to registry; Add-ins do not

9. C# “see-sharp” Developed by Microsoft as alternative to Java Part of the.NET framework and an option for developing ArcGIS add-ins Commonly used in large enterprise environments (ArcGIS server) Syntax is familiar to developers with C and Java programming experience

10. .dll Dynamic Link Library Microsoft’s shared library (assembly) implementation “helper” components ArcObjects provides.dll’s Add-in files include customized.dll’s This is compiled code that can’t be read by humans

11. IDE Integrated Development Environment Most developers use an IDE when programming IDE’s for add-ins are Visual Studio, Visual C# Express, or Visual Basic Express Provides functionality to aid development – Intellisense code completion – Wizards and templates – “snippets” – Compilation – Integrated debugging – Packages add-ins for other users

12. .NET framework Development environment used to create programs and components for Windows C# and Visual Basic are examples of.NET languages ArcObjects is a library of COM components that can be accessed by the.NET framework

13. object-oriented Programming model where objects work together to accomplish a task Objects have properties and methods (adjectives and verbs) Objects can inherit from other objects C# and Visual Basic.NET are object-oriented languages This is a very, very simplified definition

14. project The files for an add-in are stored together in a project Projects have a set of configuration files that define them. These configuration files include references Both C# and Visual Basic use the concept of projects Every customization starts with a project ArcObjects provides wizards so that projects are set up correctly according to the developer’s intentions

15. reference Add-in projects will have a set of references to ArcObjects assemblies These references are version-specific (9.3.1 vs 10.0) References are configured in the IDE as part of the project These references allow the custom code to locate and interact with existing ArcObjects code Never re-write what you can reference and re-use

16. SDK Software Developer Kit Many software packages provide an SDK for developers to customize the software Includes the API along with help files and programming samples The ArcObjects SDK integrates with an installed IDE to simplify ArcObjects development Install the SDK for the language you wish to use

17. VBA Visual Basic for Applications Built-in customization language of ArcMap desktop Starting in version 10.0 must be installed separately Not truly object-oriented Most code can be “converted” to VB.NET through a series of steps Microsoft ended support in 2008

18. Visual Basic Part of the.NET framework and a language for developing ArcGIS add-ins Object-oriented programming language May be ‘easier’ to use than C# depending on experience Syntax is familiar to VBA developers

19. XML Extensible Markup Language Designed to store and transport data XML documents can be validated against a schema Metadata for add-ins is contained in an XML configuration file This configuration file describes declarative part of the add- in including captions, tooltips, help, languages, and initial details ArcGIS wizards maintain this file but it can be manually edited