AddCustomDynamicEntityDataSource

Add custom dynamic entity data source

Create a custom dynamic entity data source and display it using a dynamic entity layer.

Use case

Developers can create a custom DynamicEntityDataSource to be able to visualize data from a variety of different feeds as dynamic entities using a DynamicEntityLayer. An example of this is in a mobile situational awareness app, where a custom DynamicEntityDataSource can be used to connect to peer-to-peer feeds in order to visualize real-time location tracks from teammates in the field.

How to use the sample

Run the sample to view the map and the dynamic entity layer displaying the latest observation from the custom data source. Tap on a dynamic entity to view its attributes in a callout.

How it works

Configure the custom data source:

1. Create a custom data source implementation of a DynamicEntityDataSource.
2. Override OnLoadAsync() to specify the DynamicEntityDataSourceInfo for a given unique entity ID field and a list of Field objects matching the fields in the data source.
3. Override OnConnectAsync() to begin processing observations from the custom data source.
4. Loop through the observations and deserialize each observation into a MapPoint object and a Dictionary<string, object> containing the attributes.
5. Use DynamicEntityDataSource.AddObservation(mapPoint, attributes) to add each observation to the custom data source.

Configure the map view:

1. Create a DynamicEntityLayer using the custom data source implementation.
2. Update values in the layer's TrackDisplayProperties to customize the layer's appearance.
3. Set up the layer's LabelDefinitions to display labels for each dynamic entity.
4. Configure a GeoViewTapped event handler on the MapView to select a dynamic entity and display the entity's attributes in a callout.

Relevant API

• DynamicEntity
• DynamicEntityDataSource
• DynamicEntityLayer
• LabelDefinition
• TrackDisplayProperties

About the data

This sample uses a .json file containing observations of marine vessels in the Pacific North West hosted on ArcGIS Online.

Additional information

In this sample, we iterate through features in a GeoJSON file to mimic messages coming from a real-time feed. You can create a custom dyamic entity data source to process any data that contains observations which can be translated into MapPoint objects with associated Dictionary<string, object> attributes.

Tags

data, dynamic, entity, label, labeling, live, real-time, stream, track