Programming MapPoint in .NET

Chapter 3. Working with Data in MapPoint 2004

MapPoint 2004 can process, analyze, and display business data based on location, and it can then create demographic maps, thematic maps, territories, time zone maps, and shapes on maps. MapPoint 2004 ships with extensive built-in demographic data and a set of APIs to import, analyze, and display your business data from variety of sources.

This chapter has three major sections that correspond to the common tasks of working with:

• MapPoint demographic data

• Your own data

• Shapes on maps

I will assume that you are familiar with the basic MapPoint 2004 programming model (if not, refer to Chapter 2 of this book). The sample data and code used in this chapter is available in the book’s companion material in the Chapter03 directory.

Understanding the MapPoint 2004 Data API

In MapPoint 2004, both business data and demographic data are represented using the DataSet class. An active Map object exposes the DataSets collection, which you use to access a valid DataSet object. How does a DataSets collection get its data wrapped as a DataSet object? The DataSets collection is different from traditional .NET collections—it not only exposes a collection of DataSet objects, but it also offers methods to import external data and to access MapPoint 2004 demographic data.

A DataSet object is similar to a data table with rows and columns and regular querying capabilities. However, a DataSet object allows you to query the records or data rows based on location ...