Can Manifold read and write to databases through ArcSDE?
No. ArcSDE is middleware that traps people into ESRI software. If your organization has placed data into a database mediated by ArcSDE you’ve just thrown your data into a jail cell and have handed the key to ESRI. There is no need in modern times to use “middleware” to enable the incredible power of databases like Oracle or SQL Server or DB2. The DBMS vendors spend billions of dollars to make sure their database products provide a full roster of features and capabilities required to store data. Frankly, they do a much better job at that than any GIS vendor, including ESRI. A fast, powerful, modern DBMS does not require any middleware to do its job. All it needs is a client that can connect to that DBMS and work with it. Manifold is such a client. Manifold connects directly to the DBMS without requiring any middleware so that on the one hand the full power and speed of the DBMS is at your command and on the other hand your data is not trapped in some format that only one, aging GIS vend
