Which one to prefer MDI or SDI?

[Coldman]

Anyone using VC++ for the development of softwares ? i am having a query to ask if it is easier to work with MDI or is it easier on SDI?

Please provide some suggestion regarding this

[Praetor]

Serial digital interface (SDI) refers to a family of video interfaces standardized by SMPTE. For example, ITU-R BT.656 and SMPTE 259M define digital video interfaces used for broadcast-grade video. A related standard, known as high-definition serial digital interface (HD-SDI), is standardized in SMPTE 292M; this provides a nominal data rate of 1.485 Gbit/s.

An emerging interface, commonly known in the industry as dual link HD-SDI and consisting essentially of a pair of SMPTE 292M links, is standardized in SMPTE 372M; this provides a nominal 2.970 Gbit/s interface used in applications (such as digital cinema or HDTV 1080P) that require greater fidelity and resolution than standard HDTV can provide. A more recent interface, 3G-SDI, consisting of a single 2.970 Gbit/s serial link, is standardized in SMPTE 424M that will replace the dual link HD-SDI.

[Katty]

Graphical computer applications with a multiple document interface (MDI) are those whose windows reside under a single parent window (usually with the exception of modal windows), as opposed to all windows being separate from each other (single document interface). The initialism MDI is usually not expanded. In the usability community, there has been much debate over which interface type is preferable. Generally SDI is seen as more useful in cases where users work with more than one application. Companies have used both interfaces with mixed responses. For example, Microsoft has changed its Office applications from SDI to MDI mode and then back to SDI, although the degree of implementation varies from one component to another.

[kelfro]

These standards are used for transmission of uncompressed, unencrypted digital video signals (optionally including embedded Audio and/or Time Code) within television facilities; they can also be used for packetized data. They are designed for operation over short distances (less than 300m. with coaxial cable); due to their high bitrates they are inappropriate for long-distance transmission. SDI and HD-SDI are currently only available in professional video equipment; various licensing agreements, restricting the use of unencrypted digital interfaces to professional equipment, prohibit their use in consumer equipment[citation needed]. There are various mod kits for existing DVD players and other devices, which allow a user to add a serial digital interface to these devices.

[Zecho]

The disadvantage of MDI usually cited is the lack of information about the currently opened windows: In order to view a list of windows open in MDI applications, the user typically has to select a specific menu ("window list" or something similar), if this option is available at all. With an SDI application, the window manager's task bar or task manager displays the currently opened windows. In recent years, applications have increasingly added "task-bars" and "tabs" to show the currently opened windows in an MDI application, which has made this criticism somewhat obsolete. Some people use a different name for this interface, "tabbed document interface" (TDI). When tabs are used to manage windows, individual ones usually cannot be resized.

Nearly all graphical user interface toolkits to date provide at least one solution for designing MDIs. The Java GUI toolkit, Swing, for instance, provides the class javax.swing.JDesktopPane which serves as a container for individual frames (class javax.swing.JInternalFrame). GTK+ lacks any standardized support for MDI.