Category: Thoughts

The Live Maps / Virtual Earth Blog points out that the MapDotNet Server 2007 is available for download.

The basic principal is very straight forward – server based GIS with access to enterprise data, dynamically rendered for use in Web applications. You have data in Oracle Spatial, PostGIS, or ESRI shape files that you want to integrate in ASP .NET apps. MapDotNet supplies drag n drop server controls for Visual Studio to hook up to your data sources and render map layers on the fly. Advanced features include direct editing of data in ESRI ArcSDE and projection transformations.

So there you go, if you are unhappy about the cost of ArcGIS Server and run ArcSDE, this might be something to take a look at.

Despite the fact that the whole Developer Summit is pretty much a .NET SIG, Art Haddad and the rest of the .NET team at ESRI hosted a .NET SIG during lunch today. Dave Bouwman was definitely the highlight with his talk about the Agile process. Steve’s got a great writeup of the SIG (it is easy when you have others blog for you) and no matter if you went to the SIG or not you’ll want to keep an eye out on Dave’s blog for his slides. Great stuff with the data binding layers and I’m anxious to get back to the shop and take a look at the Visual Studio 2005 SDK to get more into domain specific language tools Dave highlighted. For more insight, check out the Channel 9 video and see why all .NET devs should be excited about this.

I’m actually leaving the Dev Summit this afternoon to go visit some clients so I won’t be able to post much about tonight and tomorrow so keep an eye out on Planet Geospatial for more info.

The dinner tonight was pretty good, Mexican food is always welcome. The weird part was the music. They had these two ladies singing lounge music seemed WAY out of place for a developer summit. Some of the folks that were eating at the table seemed to think these should have been for the Business Partners Conference, not developers. Even with free beer flowing, we had to move on. Very awkward if you ask me as I doubt many sitting there know who Engelbert Humperdinck is or even his songs.

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Rob Elkins and Dave Bouwman have some great posts on the morning sessions. Rather than repeat what they’ve written I’ll point you in their direction.

• Rob Elkins – 2nd Annual ESRI Developer Summit
• Rob Elkins – ArcGIS Server takes the Stage (Author – Server – Use)
• Rob Elkins – Plenary Session continues..
• Rob Elkins – Online GIS
• Dave Bouwman – Dev Summit: Plenary Session Notes
• Steven Citron-Pousty – Plenary session

The notes that most of you will be interested in is what’s planned for 2007 with ArcGIS:

• Maintain 9.2 (bug fixes, performance, documention, critical issues)
• Enhance ArcGIS Server (OGC, enhance Web ADF)
• Overhaul Desktop User Interface
• Overhaul Core GIS components (Geodatabase, mapping and graphics, Geoprocessing)
• Develope standard mobile application framework
• Enhance ArcGIS Online

Beyond that the new stuff in 9.3 future releases will include:
ArcObjects Core:

• new compiler, 64-bit executibles
• simplified API (COM, .NET, Java)
• improve install, update, license management
  Mapping and Graphics
• map data model (Geodatabase)
• new graphics engine (2D & 3D)
  Geodatabase
• integrated metadata catalog
• XML & 64-bit object ID fileds (SDE, File Geodatabase)
• 3D information models
  Geoprocessing
• core framework performance and improvments
  ArcGIS Desktop
• Integrated desktop user interface
  ArcGIS Server
• Fast dymanic map (new graphics engine)
• Improved Geoprocessing
• Integrated catalog and search

Just something that I noticed at the ESRI Business Partner Conference. Group 1 is an ESRI Business Partner and a Gold Sponsor of the 2007 ESRI Business Partner Conference. Now that Group 1 will acquire MapInfo, will that make MapInfo an ESRI Business Patner?

There really wasn’t much for ESRI to announce at the Plenary Session but Jack did hit on some things coming down the road in ArcGIS 9.3 and ArcGIS 10. ArcGIS 9.2 SP2 should be out in a “couple weeks” and SP3 will be out in Summer. ArcGIS 9.3 will be available (I’m assuming Beta) late fall 2007. Jack called 9.3, 9.2.1 so its going to be less of a jump in features than 9.2 was and I think everyone will be happy with that.

ArcGIS Desktop 9.3

• Quality and Performance Improvements
• Improved Documentation
• Cartography
• Statistical Modeling
• Improved OGC and KML support
• Virtual Earth Integration
• Vista Support

ArcGIS Server 9.3

• Quality and Performance Improvements
• Javascript API (so one doesn’t need to use Java or .NET)
• Role-based security
• ArcGIS Image Server will be integrated into AGS
• Integration with ArcWeb
• PostgreSQL support

Version 10 will be in the future (at least 2008) and will include:

• Multiple layouts
• Modern interface (the screen shots shown had a Microsoft Office 2007 look to them with that “ribbon” toolbars
• Support for high performance graphic cards

Now 10 is still WAY out in the future so anything could change and probably will change.

Well I’m all arrived and checked into the business partner conference. I think my NCAA bracket is still doing well, but I’m probably going to head down to the bar to see what is happening. I’m just a tad worried about Georgetown. 🙁

Well I’ll be heading out on a turboprop from Phoenix Sky Harbor to Palm Springs International Airport tomorrow morning for the Business Partner Conference and the Developer Summit. I’m hoping to run into a few of you that have emailed me over the course of the week. Remember that there will be a meet-up planned for the Developer Summit so if you have a blog or read them, show up.

Otherwise on Saturday night I’ll probably be at the hotel bar to start the night. 🙂

The ESRI Support Center News Blog has an entry detailing some changes coming and some things that have already changed. I wonder if they’ll finally update their search engine to recognize ArcSDE?

Care to take a look at the questions that attendees to the Dev Summit asked and ESRI answered? Some questions/answers of note:

Q: What are the plans for supporting the PostgreSQL database with ArcGIS Server (ArcSDE technology) and when will this functionality be available?

ArcGIS Server (ArcSDE technology) will support the PostgreSQL database at the ArcGIS 9.3 release. This will further enhance ESRI’s commitment to make its technology compatible and integrated with Open Source software technologies. The enterprise geodatabase and all of its standard capabilities will be fully supported. It will be OGC/ISO compliant and the PostGIS geometry type will be supported. In addition, ESRI will also provide its own spatial type for storing geometries in PostgreSQL.

Q: How many people are registered for the Developer Summit?

There are 1,131 people pre-registered with approximately two-thirds being first time attendees. This is a significant increase from last year’s attendance of 716 and points to the growing need to incorporate mapping and GIS functionality into custom applications. Last year’s attendance was greater than we anticipated, which resulted in many crowded session rooms. One of the improvements for this year is that we scheduled larger rooms. Although online registration is closed, onsite registration is available at the summit starting Monday, March 19, 2007.

OK not exactly deep questions and answers, but that is why there is a Developer Summit. Trust me, the hard questions will be asked and answered in Palm Springs next week. See you there.

**Update – **Dave Bouwman has some more analysis at his blog. I find it interesting that ColdFusion is battling Mac OS X support at the bottom of the Developer Technologies graph.