GIS-Enabled Desktop Software Development Pardigms

In the world of GIS enabled desktop software development, there are two commonly used development paradigms: the plug-in (or extension) approach and the standalone application approach. A plug-in based application runs on and interacts directly with a host application. Alternatively, standalone GIS-enabled software applications typically use modular GIS components and run independently of any host application. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages for both the end-user and the developer. Some of these are presented in this paper. Additionally, a case study is presented exploring both software development paradigms in the context of the MapWindow GIS open source software package.