Appendices

Object definition files

All ILWIS objects have an object definition file which stores all information on an object.

Object definition files are almost always plain ASCII files divided into sections, similar to the Windows WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files. In the user-interface, the relevant contents of an object definition file are shown in the properties of an object.

Object definition files list for instance:

• the name, description, and creation time of the object,
• the name and store type of the data files of the object,
• references to other required objects such as domain, georeference, representation, etc.,
• whether the object is dependent or not.

The object definition files of dependent data objects list furthermore:

• the definition or expression of how a dependent map, table or column was created; this includes the names of the objects on which the current object depends,
• whether the object is calculated or not, whether the object is up-to-date or not, etc.

For dependent maps and tables, in principle only the small object definition files are stored on disk. The data files are automatically calculated and stored on disk when the dependent map or table is displayed. Dependent data objects can be recalculated in case the input data have changed.

For data objects, the following object definition files exist:

For containers, the following object definition files exist:

For service objects, the following object definition files exist:

For special objects, the following object definition files exist:

See also:

Basic concepts : properties of objects

Appendices : relations between objects

Appendices : file extensions