ArcGIS

ArcGIS

Parcel editing with ArcMap 10.1 on Windows 7
Developer(s) Esri
Initial release December 27, 1999
Stable release 10.3 / December 10, 2014
Development status Active
Operating system Desktop: Windows 7 SP1 and later, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and later;[1] Server (x64 only) additionally supports: Windows Server 2003 SP2 and later; RHEL 5 Update 7 and later, SLES 11 SP1 and later;[2]
Type Geographic information system
License Proprietary commercial software
Website http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis

Esri's ArcGIS is a geographic information system (GIS) for working with maps and geographic information. It is used for: creating and using maps; compiling geographic data; analyzing mapped information; sharing and discovering geographic information; using maps and geographic information in a range of applications; and managing geographic information in a database.

The system provides an infrastructure for making maps and geographic information available throughout an organization, across a community, and openly on the Web.

ArcGIS includes the following Windows desktop software:

There are also server-based ArcGIS products, as well as ArcGIS products for PDAs. Extensions can be purchased separately to increase the functionality of ArcGIS.

Product history

ArcGIS version history
Version Released
8.01999-12-27[4]
8.0.12000-01-13[5]
8.12001-05-01[6]
8.22002-05-10[7]
8.32003-02-10[8]
9.02004-05-11[9]
9.12005-05-25[10]
9.22006-11-14[11]
9.32008-06-25[12]
9.3.12009-04-28[13]
10.02010-06-29[14]
10.12012-06-11[15]
10.22013-07-30[16]
10.2.12014-02-10[17]
10.2.22014-02-27[18]
10.32014-12-10[19]

Prior to the ArcGIS suite, Esri had focused its software development on the command line Arc/INFO workstation program and several Graphical User Interface-based products such as the ArcView GIS 3.x desktop program. Other Esri products included MapObjects, a programming library for developers, and ArcSDE as a relational database management system. The various products had branched out into multiple source trees and did not integrate well with one another. In January 1997, Esri decided to revamp its GIS software platform, creating a single integrated software architecture.[20]

ArcGIS 8.x

In late 1999, Esri released ArcGIS 8.0, which ran on the Microsoft Windows operating system.[20] ArcGIS combined the visual user-interface aspect of ArcView GIS 3.x interface with some of the power from the Arc/INFO version 7.2 workstation. This pairing resulted in a new software suite called ArcGIS, which included the command-line ArcInfo workstation (v8.0) and a new graphical user interface application called ArcMap (v8.0) incorporating some of the functionality of ArcInfo with a more intuitive interface, as well as an ArcGIS file management application called ArcCatalog (v8.0). The release of the ArcGIS suite constituted a major change in Esri's software offerings, aligning all their client and server products under one software architecture known as ArcGIS, developed using Microsoft Windows COM standards.[21]

One major difference is the programming (scripting) languages available to customize or extend the software to suit particular user needs. In the transition to ArcGIS, Esri dropped support of its application-specific scripting languages, Avenue and the ARC Macro Language (AML), in favour of Visual Basic for Applications scripting and open access to ArcGIS components using the Microsoft COM standards.[22] ArcGIS is designed to store data in a proprietary RDBMS format, known as geodatabase. ArcGIS 8.x introduced other new features, including on-the-fly map projections, and annotation in the database.[23]

Updates of ArcView 3.x extensions, including 3D Analyst and Spatial Analyst, came later with release of ArcGIS 8.1, which was unveiled at the Esri International User Conference in 2000.[24] ArcGIS 8.1 was officially released on April 24, 2001. Other new extensions were made available with ArcGIS 8.1, including GeoStatistical Analyst. ArcGIS 8.1 also added the ability to access data online, directly from the Geography Network site or other ArcIMS map services.[22] ArcGIS 8.3 was introduced in 2002, adding topology to geodatabases, which was a feature originally available only with ArcInfo coverages.[25]

ArcGIS 9.x

ArcGIS 9 was released in May 2004, which included ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Engine for developers.[20] The ArcGIS 9 release includes a geoprocessing environment that allows execution of traditional GIS processing tools (such as clipping, overlay, and spatial analysis) interactively or from any scripting language that supports COM standards. Although the most popular of these is Python, others have been used, especially Perl and VBScript. ArcGIS 9 includes a visual programming environment, similar to ERDAS IMAGINE's Model Maker (released in 1994, v8.0.2). The Esri version is called ModelBuilder and as does the ERDAS IMAGINE version allows users to graphically link geoprocessing tools into new tools called models. These models can be executed directly or exported to scripting languages which can then execute in batch mode (launched from a command line), or they can undergo further editing to add branching or looping.

On June 26, 2008, Esri released ArcGIS 9.3. The new version of ArcGIS Desktop has new modeling tools and geostatistical error tracking features, while ArcGIS Server has improved performance, and support for role-based security. There also are new JavaScript APIs that can be used to create mashups, and integrated with either Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth.[26][27]

At the 2008 Esri Developers Summit, there was little emphasis on ArcIMS, except for one session on transitioning from ArcIMS to ArcGIS Server-based applications, indicating a change in focus for Esri with ArcGIS 9.3 for web-based mapping applications.[28]

In May 2009, Esri released ArcGIS 9.3.1, which improved the performance of dynamic map publishing and introduced better sharing of geographic information.

ArcGIS 10.x

In 2010, Esri announced what had previously been thought of as version 9.4 would be version 10 and would be shipped in the second quarter of 2010.[29]

In June 2012, Esri released ArcGIS 10.1.[30][31]

In July 2013, Esri released ArcGIS 10.2.[32]

In December 2014, Esri released ArcGIS 10.3. The release included ArcGIS Pro, which became available in January 2015

Geodatabase

Older Esri products, including ArcView 3.x, worked with data in the shapefile format. ArcInfo Workstation handled coverages, which stored topology information about the spatial data. Coverages, which were introduced in 1981 when ArcInfo was first released, have limitations in how they handle types of features. Some features, such as roads with street intersections or overpasses and underpasses, should be handled differently from other types of features.[33]

ArcGIS is built around a geodatabase, which uses an object-relational database approach for storing spatial data. A geodatabase is a "container" for holding datasets, tying together the spatial features with attributes. The geodatabase can also contain topology information, and can model behavior of features, such as road intersections, with rules on how features relate to one another.[34] When working with geodatabases, it is important to understand about feature classes which are a set of features, represented with points, lines, or polygons. With shapefiles, each file can only handle one type of feature. A geodatabase can store multiple feature classes or type of features within one file.[35]

Geodatabases in ArcGIS can be stored in three different ways - as a "file geodatabase", a "personal geodatabase", or an "ArcSDE geodatabase".[36] Introduced at 9.2, the file geodatabase stores information in a folder named with a .gdb extension. The insides look similar to that of a coverage but is not, in fact, a coverage. Similar to the personal geodatabase, the file geodatabase only supports a single editor. However, unlike the personal geodatabase, there is virtually no size limit. By default, any single table cannot exceed 1TB, but this can be changed. Personal geodatabases store data in Microsoft Access files, using a BLOB field to store the geometry data. The OGR library is able to handle this file type, to convert it to other file formats.[37] Database administration tasks for personal geodatabases, such as managing users and creating backups, can be done through ArcCatalog. Personal geodatabases, which are based on Microsoft Access, run only on Microsoft Windows and have a 2 gigabyte size limit.[38] Enterprise (multi-user) level geodatabases are handled using ArcSDE, which interfaces with high-end DBMS such as PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, DB2 and Informix to handle database management aspects, while ArcGIS deals with spatial data management.[39] Enterprise level geodatabases support database replication, versioning and transaction management, and are cross-platform compatible, able to run on Linux, Windows, and Solaris.[38]

Also released at 9.2 is the personal SDE database that operates with SQL Server Express. Personal SDE databases do not support multi-user editing, but do support versioning and disconnected editing. Microsoft limits SQL Server Express databases to 4GB.

Components and product levels

ArcGIS consists of Desktop GIS products, as well as GIS products that run on a server, or on a mobile[40] device.

ArcGIS for Desktop

Product levels

ArcGIS for Desktop is available at different product levels, with increasing functionality.

Other desktop GIS software include ArcGIS Explorer and ArcGIS Engine. ArcGIS Explorer is a GIS viewer which can work as a client for ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS, ArcWeb Services and Web Map Service (WMS).

Components

ArcGIS for Desktop consists of several integrated applications, including ArcMap, ArcCatalog, ArcToolbox, and ArcGlobe. ArcCatalog is the data management application, used to browse datasets and files on one's computer, database, or other sources. In addition to showing what data is available, ArcCatalog also allows users to preview the data on a map. ArcCatalog also provides the ability to view and manage metadata for spatial datasets.[45] ArcMap is the application used to view, edit and query geospatial data, and create maps. The ArcMap interface has two main sections, including a table of contents on the left and the data frame(s) which display the map. Items in the table of contents correspond with layers on the map.[46] ArcToolbox contains geoprocessing, data conversion, and analysis tools, along with much of the functionality in ArcInfo. It is also possible to use batch processing with ArcToolbox, for frequently repeated tasks.[47]

Extensions

There are a number of software extensions that can be added to ArcGIS for Desktop that provide added functionality, including 3D Analyst, Spatial Analyst, Network Analyst, Survey Analyst, Tracking Analyst, and Geostatistical Analyst.[48] Advanced map labeling is available with the Maplex extension, as an add-on to ArcView and ArcEditor and is bundled with ArcInfo.[42] Numerous extensions have also been developed by third parties, such as the MapSpeller spell-checker, ST-Links PgMap XTools and MAP2PDF for creating georeferenced pdfs (GeoPDF),[49] ERDAS' Image Analysis and Stereo Analyst for ArcGIS, and ISM's PurVIEW, which converts Arc- desktops into precise stereo-viewing windows to work with geo-referenced stereoscopic image models for accurate geodatabase-direct editing or feature digitizing.

Other products

ArcGIS Mobile and ArcPad are products designed for mobile devices. ArcGIS Mobile is a software development kit for developers to use to create applications for mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablet PCs. If connected to the Internet, mobile applications can connect to ArcGIS Server to access or update data. ArcGIS Mobile is only available at the Enterprise level[50]

Server GIS products include ArcIMS (web mapping server), ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Image Server. As with ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Server is available at different product levels, including Basic, Standard, and Advanced Editions. ArcGIS Server comes with SQL Server Express DBMS embedded and can work with enterprise DBMS such as SQL Server Enterprise and Oracle.[51] The Esri Developer Network (EDN) includes ArcObjects and other tools for building custom software applications, and ArcGIS Engine provides a programming interface for developers.[52]

ArcGIS Engine

The ArcGIS Engine is an ArcGIS software engine, a developer product for creating custom GIS desktop applications.

ArcGIS Engine provides application programming interfaces (APIs) for COM, .NET, Java, and C++ for the Windows, Linux, and Solaris platforms. The APIs include documentation and a series of high-level visual components to ease building ArcGIS applications.

ArcGIS Engine includes the core set of components, ArcObjects, from which ArcGIS Desktop products are built. With ArcGIS Engine one can build stand-alone applications or extend existing applications for both GIS and non-GIS users. The ArcGIS Engine distribution additionally includes utilities, samples, and documentation.

One ArcGIS Engine Runtime or ArcGIS Desktop license per computer is necessary.

Sales

ArcGIS Desktop products and ArcPad are available with a single-use license. Most products are also available with concurrent-use license, while development server licenses and other types of software licenses are available for other products.[53] Single-use products can be purchased online from the Esri Store, while all ArcGIS products are available through a sales representative or reseller. Annual software maintenance and support is also available for ArcGIS.[54] While there are alternative products available from other traditional vendors such as MapInfo, Maptitude, and Intergraph, Esri has a dominant share of the GIS software market with approximately a 36 percent share of the GIS software market worldwide as of 2002. The ARC Advisory Group estimated in 2010 that Esri's market share now exceeds 40%.[55]

Criticisms

Esri's change to the ArcGIS platform rendered incompatible an extensive range of user-developed and third-party add-on software and scripts. A minority user base resists migrating to ArcGIS because of changes in scripting capability, functionality, operating system (Esri developed ArcGIS Desktop software exclusively for the Microsoft Windows operating system), as well as the significantly larger system resources required by the ArcGIS system.[56][57] Esri has continued support for these users . ArcView 3.x is still available for purchase, and ArcInfo Workstation is still included in a full ArcGIS ArcInfo licence to provide some editing and file conversion functionality that has not been included to date in ArcGIS. Other issues with ArcGIS include perceived high prices for the products, proprietary formats, and difficulties of porting data between Esri and other GIS software.[58][59][60]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ArcGIS 10.3 for Desktop system requirements". 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
  2. ↑ "ArcGIS 10.3 for Server system requirements". 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
  3. ↑ "A Note About Names". ArcNews Summer 2011. ESRI. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  4. ↑ ESRI Staff (Spring 2000). "ArcInfo 8: A New Architecture for GIS". ESRI ArcNews. Archived from the original on 2000-08-16.
  5. ↑ "ESRI's ArcInfo 8 GIS Software Ships to Users Worldwide" (Press release). ESRI. 2000-01-13. Archived from the original on 2000-03-04.
  6. ↑ "ArcGIS 8.1 Now Shipping: The First Release of a Single, Integrated GIS" (Press release). ESRI. 2001-05-01. Archived from the original on 2001-05-07.
  7. ↑ "ArcGIS 8.2 Now Available: Improved ArcIMS Integration, New Extensions, and New Features" (Press release). ESRI. 2002-05-10. Archived from the original on 2002-10-08.
  8. ↑ "ArcGIS 8.3 Now Available: Topology Support, New Extensions, and New Features Highlight Latest Release" (Press release). ESRI. 2003-02-10. Archived from the original on 2003-02-22.
  9. ↑ "ArcGIS 9 Now Available: New Release Focuses on Geoprocessing, 3D Visualization, Interoperability, Cartography, and GIS Infrastructure" (Press release). ESRI. 2004-05-11. Archived from the original on 2004-05-24.
  10. ↑ "ArcGIS 9.1 Now Available" (Press release). ESRI. 2005-05-25. Archived from the original on 2006-05-27.
  11. ↑ "ESRI Announces ArcGIS 9.2 Is Now Shipping: A Major Advancement for GIS, Making It Easier to Author, Serve, and Use Geographic Knowledge" (Press release). ESRI. 2006-11-14. Archived from the original on 2006-11-17.
  12. ↑ "ArcGIS 9.3 Improves Your Entire GIS Workflow: Enhanced Data Management, New Cartographic Tools, and More Efficient Information Sharing" (Press release). ESRI. 2008-06-25. Archived from the original on 2008-06-30.
  13. ↑ "ArcGIS 9.3.1 Unlocks the Potential of Your GIS" (Press release). ESRI. 2009-04-28. Archived from the original on 2009-05-03.
  14. ↑ "ArcGIS 10 Transforms the Way People Use GIS: New Release Simplifies Your Work, Provides New Ways to Share Information, Supplies GIS in the Cloud, and Much More" (Press release). Esri. 2010-06-29. Archived from the original on 2010-07-03.
  15. ↑ "ArcGIS 10.1 Simplifies Sharing of Geographic Information: New Tools and Infrastructure Extend the Reach of GIS throughout Organizations" (Press release). Esri. 2012-06-11. Archived from the original on 2012-06-15.
  16. ↑ "ArcGIS 10.2 Delivers Transformational Capabilities: Latest Release of ArcGIS Includes New Online Analysis Tools, Live Data Integration, and Enhanced Business Intelligence" (Press release). Esri. 2013-07-30.
  17. ↑ "ArcGIS for (Desktop, Engine, Server) 10.2.1" (Press release). Esri. 2014-02-27.
  18. ↑ "ArcGIS for (Desktop, Engine, Server) 10.2.2" (Press release). Esri. 2014-02-27.
  19. ↑ "ArcGIS 10.3: The Next Generation of GIS Is Here" (Press release). Esri. 2014-02-10.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Smith, Susan (May 2004). "Dr. David Maguire on the ArcGIS 9.0 Product Family Release". GIS Weekly. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  21. ↑ Elroi, Daniel (2000-05-16). "Straight Talk From the Top". Directions Magazine.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Here Comes ArcView 8.1". GeoCommunity. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  23. ↑ Huber, Bill (August 2000). "The Future of ArcView; Part 1". Directions Magazine.
  24. ↑ Maguire, David J (May 2000). "Esri's New ArcGIS Product Family". ArcNews (Esri).
  25. ↑ "ArcGIS Brings Topology to the Geodatabase". ArcNews (Esri). Summer 2002.
  26. ↑ "What's New in ArcGIS 9.3". esri.com. 2008-06-26. Archived from the original on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  27. ↑ "ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 Demos". esri.com. 2008-06-26. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  28. ↑ "ArcIMS Goes Out With a Whimper". Fuzzy Tolerance / Mecklenburg County GIS. 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  29. ↑ "What's coming ArcGIS 10". esri.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  30. ↑ Elkins, Rob. "ArcGIS 10.1 Available Soon". ArcGIS Resource Center Blog. ESRI. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  31. ↑ Guerra, Lucy. "Now that ArcGIS 10.1 is shipping…". ArcGIS Resource Center Blog. ESRI. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  32. ↑ "ArcGIS 10.2 Released". Support Services Blog. ESRI. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  33. ↑ Zeiler, Michael (1999). Modeling Our World: The Esri Guide to Geodatabase Design. Esri. p. 4.
  34. ↑ Tomlinson, Roger F. (2003). Thinking about GIS: Geographic Information System Planning for Managers. Esri. p. 144.
  35. ↑ Detwiler, Jim. "ArcGIS - Building geodatabases" (PDF). Penn State - Population Research Institute. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  36. ↑ "Types of Geodatabases (ArcGIS 9.2 Desktop Help)". Esri. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  37. ↑ "Esri Personal Geodatabase". MapServer. Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Gillgrass, Craig, Tom Brown, Gary McDougall. "What's New with Geodatabases" (PDF). Esri. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  39. ↑ Reid, Hal (2004-08-18). "ArcGIS 9 and the Geodatabase". Directions Magazine.
  40. ↑ Mobile ArcGIS Viewer http://www.webmapsolutions.com/free-mobile-arcgis-viewer-upgraded
  41. ↑ "ArcReader - Frequently Asked Questions". Esri. Archived from the original on 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 "ArcGIS Desktop 9.2 Functionality Matrix" (PDF). Esri. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  43. ↑ Esri - Product Page
  44. ↑ "Custom Mobile ArcGIS Online". webmapsolutions.com.com. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  45. ↑ Zeiders, Michelle (October 2002). "Introduction to ArcCatalog" (PDF). Penn State. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  46. ↑ Zeiders, Michelle (October 2002). "Introduction to ArcMap" (PDF). Penn State. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  47. ↑ Graham, Steve (October 2002). "Introduction to ArcToolbox" (PDF). Penn State. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  48. ↑ "Extensions for ArcInfo, ArcEditor, and ArcView". Esri. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  49. ↑ Limp, W. Fredrick (October 2007). "MAP2PDF Bundle". GeoWorld.
  50. ↑ "ArcGIS Goes Mobile". ArcNews (Esri). Spring 2007.
  51. ↑ "Streamlining Server Technology at ArcGIS 9.2". ArcNews (Esri). Summer 2006.
  52. ↑ "What is ArcGIS 9.2?" (PDF). Esri. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  53. ↑ "General License Terms and Conditions" (PDF). Esri. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  54. ↑ "ArcGIS Pricing". Esri. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  55. ↑ "COTS GIS: The Value of a Commercial Geographic Information System" (PDF). www.esri.com. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  56. ↑ "Making The Move From ArcView 3x to ArcView 8.1". GeoCommunity. May 2001.
  57. ↑ Fee, James (2006-10-02). "Do you still use ArcView 3.x?". Spatially Adjusted. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  58. ↑ Flanders, Kevin (2005-11-11). "Is It Time for Open Source?". Directions Magazine.
  59. ↑ Nasr, Mahmoud Refaat (June 2007). "Open Source Software: The Use of Open Source GIS Software and its Impact on Organizations" (PDF). Middlesex University / MIT.
  60. ↑ Mitchell, Tyler (2006-11-23). "The missing open source piece?".

External links