ArcGIS 9.3 JavaScript API Now Available

The new ArcGIS 9.3 JavaScript API and SDK is now available. This goes with the ArcGIS 9.3 Resource Centres that was made available earlier today.

The online SDK which includes help and samples for the API is hosted within the ArcGIS Server Resource Centre. The ArcGIS Server Development Blog has a great write up on the release with answers to some questions you might have.

Who can use the ArcGIS JavaScript API? Is there a cost?

Everyone can use the ArcGIS JavaScript API. There is no fee for using the ArcGIS JavaScript API or deploying an application built with it.

How do I learn how to use the ArcGIS JavaScript API?

The best way to learn the API is to visit the ArcGIS JavaScript API home page. If you’re brand new to JavaScript programming, there are walkthrough topics to help you understand what JavaScript is and how to start working with it in ArcGIS. If you have more experience developing with JavaScript, you might take a look at the live samples. The samples cover a range of topics and each contains a discussion of what is happening in the code. Finally, a detailed API reference describes each class available in the API.

What services does the API work with?

The ArcGIS JavaScript API works with ArcGIS Server 9.3 services, which are exposed through REST technology. If you haven’t received or deployed 9.3 yet, you can still get started learning the API using several ESRI sample servers that have been configured for this purpose. The API also consumes ArcGIS Online services. This sample shows how you can add an ArcGIS Online layer to a JavaScript application.

What else do I need to know?

Two ArcGIS JavaScript Extensions were also released at the same time as the ArcGIS JavaScript API:

• The ArcGIS JavaScript Extension for the Google Maps API allows you to work with GIS services in a Google Maps and Mapplets environment.
• The ArcGIS JavaScript Extension for Virtual Earth allows you to work with GIS services in Microsoft Virtual Earth.

With the ArcGIS 9.3 JavaScript API and SDK released I am looking forward to seeing some great applications and mashup’s on the web! The ArcGIS 9.3 Resource Centres should have everything you need to get started along with bundles of examples.

Over the next few weeks I hope to migrate and build a bundle of mashup’s and applications which make use of the JavaScript and REST APIs. I will post more information for the ones that can be made publicly available.