Creating Hidden Tables in ArcGIS Pro

Question

In the ArcObjects world, we can write a Workspace extension for a specific geodatabase. By using that extension, we can create hidden tables in that geodatabase to store some data about our internal business logic, so that the users cannot see and modify those datasets. You can take a look at the documentation on get_PrivateDatasetNames() by using the link below.

http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisengine/ArcObjects/ao_start.htm#esriGeodatabase/IWorkspaceExtension_PrivateDatasetNames.htm

Is there a similar mechanism for ArcGIS Pro? How can I create hidden tables in ArcGIS Pro SDK .NET?

AlexanderFischer · Answer

Thank you Rich, for the reply and your suggestions.

RichRuh · Answer

Hi Zeno,

Unfortunately, this functionality is not included in the Pro SDK, and we don't have any near-term plans to add it.

I cannot think of any sure-fire workarounds, but you might be able to get by with some of these ideas:

* Prefix the tablenames with something like "MyProductSystemTable."  This should stop all but the most malicious users from writing to the tables (although the more curious might try to read them).
* Store your actual data in a blob or encrypted text string, which would prevent the read case (but again, won't stop a malicious writer from just clobbering the whole thing)
* Create a username/password for a system user and use a different database connection for reading these tables.  Hardcode these values in your app- the system admin would need to run a script to create this other user.

None of these give you what you had with workspace extensions, but I hope they are useful ideas at least.

--Rich