Update: This may not be necessary for GIS[[BR]]
[changeset:,52] has a rewritten approach to Layers where {{{'gis_layer_%s' % type}}} are SQLTables (inheriting from a base set) which we can use {{{t2.*()}}} on
- this seems to give us most (all?) of the benefits below.

However I think that PERSON won't be solvable in the same way :/

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The GIS module may benefit from writing a LAYER class.[[BR]]
Layer Types would extend this base class.

Each Layer Type would be a single Table & hence could use the standard RESTlike controller.[[BR]]
This should ease maintenance compared to the [wiki:DeveloperGuidelinesGIS current process].

Have the Map Service Catalogue have a tab per Type(*).[[BR]]
Each has its own self-processing SQLFORM (generated by T2)[[BR]]
(This would make it like S2, which works well)

It should make us friendlier to non-!JavaScript browsers (such as Mobile devices), since currently we rely on gis_layers.js to show us only relevant fields. (An alternative use for this script would be to pull in new SQLFORM object via ?format=plain instead of adjusting fields displayed/hidden).

This gives us better control of the display order for Layers & better modularity of Layer-processing JS code (1 file per layer type).

* Alternatives could be collapsible sections (like appadmin) or submenus on left-hand navigation.

 * [http://jqueryfordesigners.com/jquery-tabs/ JQuery-Tabs]: "if the markup is well designed, it will automatically degrade nicely without !JavaScript enabled"
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Objects contain both data and functionality together.[[BR]]
A Class in essence defines a new data type.[[BR]]
 => The Class is not the Controller alone, but the Resource (including Controller)[[BR]]
 => Each Resource type should extend a base Resource (which extends...?)[[BR]]
Currently our resources are defined in the model & hence of type gluon.sql.SQLTable (inc SQLFields)[[BR]]
LAYER extends RESOURCE extends SQLTable? or has an attribute SQLTable?[[BR]]
Other attributes:
 * Controller
 * crud_strings

 * http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english2e/ch13.xhtml
 * http://diveintopython.org/object_oriented_framework/defining_classes.html
 * http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/alan.gauld/tutclass.htm
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NB A similar solution probably applies for 'PERSON' as well.
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[wiki:BluePrintGeographicInformationSystems GIS BluePrints]