The ArcGIS Sever Development Blog says that the ArcGIS JavaScript API is now available to the public. As was mentioned before, it is freely available for anyone to use. You can of course also use the extenders for Virtual Earth and Google Maps if the ESRI JavasScript client isn’t what you are looking for.
The ESRI ArcGIS Server Resource Center has all the information about getting started with the API. You don’t need your own ArcGIS Server install to get started, you can just use ESRI’s sample servers.
Finally you can get RESTful with ArcGIS Server on your own
8 responses so far ↓
1
Joseph Wallis
// Jul 9, 2008 at 6:21 am
Am I missing something or is this API missing core selection functions? I see you can do query and find, but I see no method to capture a selected set of features from the map.
2
Jeremy
// Jul 9, 2008 at 6:58 am
Here is a sample that shows you how to select graphics already on the map.
If you want to select something from the map server you need to use one of the tasks (QueryTask, FindTask, or Identify Task), perform the operation on the server, and use the results as your selected feature.
This sample performs a query based on where the user clicks to find the intersecting census block polygon, it then uses that returned graphic in another query to find all the census blocks that share geometry with the geometry in the graphic.
Cheers,
Jeremy
3
Laine
// Jul 9, 2008 at 12:39 pm
The samples are nice and I like the Dojo framework. But I need to develop web apps from within a corporate firewall…i.e. no external web access.
Any ideas on if the JS API is available to download ans store locally?
Laine
4
Ismael
// Jul 10, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Hi Laine,
yes, ESRI is working on this. You will be able to request a ‘deployment package’ for the ArcGIS JavaScript API’s for it’s deployment within corporate firewalls.
Ismael
5
Ray Saunders
// Jul 15, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Recommended reading to learn GIS? Many years in computer biz but GIS is another world. Wanto to build mashup with Google Maps and data from the GIS world. Can handle the javascript okay but don’t know enough detail about how GIS data is represented and manipulated.
6
ChrisW
// Jul 22, 2008 at 6:23 am
@Ray:
Excellent quick start to web-mapping: “GIS for web developers” by Scott Davis - introduces you to lots of free tools for web mapping and the basic concepts of GIS, using PostGIS, GeoServer, free data from various sources, AJAX APIs such as OpenLayers and MapBuilder etc.
Google-specific: online tutorials etc are probably your best starting point, also “Google Maps Hacks” by Rich Gibson (slightly out-of-date), or “Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax” published by Apress (Ruby version also available).
“Getting to know ArcGIS Desktop” from the ESRI Press is well worth buying as it includes a 6 month trial version of ESRI’s ArcGIS Desktop professional GIS package, which seems to be the industry standard. The book is a step-by-step tutorial through the basic functionality of ArcGIS.
General principles of GIS - probably best to see if some of the professionals on James’s blog can advise, as I’m just a GIS student myself (another IT person trying to break into GIS, much to the disgust of some GIS professionals, it seems).
FWIW, I found “An Introduction to Geographical Information Systems” by Ian Heywood very readable and informative as a starting point, and “GIS A Computing Perspective” by Michael Worboys is very good on the IT underneath GIS (as is “Spatial Databases” by Philippe Rigaux).
Or check out the reading lists for your nearest GIS MSc course perhaps.
Good luck!
7
Ray Saunders
// Jul 22, 2008 at 7:03 am
Thanks Chris - will see how many of these books I can track down.
rs
8
ChrisW
// Jul 22, 2008 at 11:20 am
@Ray:
One more thing - make sure you check out Rich Treves Google Earth Design pages:
http://googleearthdesign.blogspot.com/
He has lots of interesting ideas and tutorial on how to make decent maps with Google Earth.
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