Spatial Horizons

As mentioned in our previous post, XNA offers a graphical framework to build some cool mapping applications. We will first discuss several coding techniques as it relates to our objectives before building an actual XNA program. For more general XNA tutorials, I encourage you to see some of the sites discussed in the last post.

Open Visual C# Express (after installing the XNA Game Studio Express) and create a new Windows Game. The new project comes with all of the base XNA code already setup in several functions. In fact, you can go ahead and press F5 to compile and run the program right away. A form should display with a light blue background.

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Put very simply, our ultimate goal is to build a mapping application from scratch. Obviously, this will take some time so we will split this objective into several smaller projects. The first set of projects will work towards creating a program that features mapping, “mash-up” capabilities, and GPS integration.

Why build a GIS from scratch when there are both open source and proprietary mapping applications available? Because it’s fun…and it provides a tremendous learning experience on the core topics of geography and computer science. Having complete control over the program, from the map engine to the interface, also presents the unique opportunity to create an application designed exactly the way you want.

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