how to create image from gis data in C#

Question

I'm using C# to pull spatial data from a sql server 2008 database. I'm then trying to perform operations on that data, but to start... I want to be able to visualize it. That is, I would like to create an image of the data, preferably in jpg format.

I thought that I might do it by hand, but that is proving more challenging than I had originally thought that it would, given that the degrees are not whole numbers, and I can't just truncate them to draw onto a graphics object.

Can someone point me to the right library that might help me to perform this operation?

NOTE: Paying for a library is not an option for me, at this time.

Answer 1

Not sure if you want to create images in your program using C# or if you just want to see some images in any way possible outside of your program (you didn't state either way). If you just want a stand alone GUI for doing this, there is QuantumGIS which is free and can visually represent GIS data for you. It was invaluable for me when I started figuring out geospatial data, it looks like this:

You could also use the SqlSpatial tool from SharpGIS:

Answer 2

You can export the data to google earth. The API also allows you to take screenshots programatically.