Deprecation Plans For ArcGIS 9.3.1 And ArcGIS 9.4. An Important Document To Read

The deprecation plans for ArcGIS 9.3.1 and ArcGIS 9.4 have now been released. With every release, platforms not being used as much anymore or at the end of their supportability are assessed. With platforms, these can include operating systems, databases, development environments, hardware and the like.

We assess the required platforms and functionality of the ArcGIS platform at each release to account for changes in technologies and markets. As a result, we add and drop some platforms and functionality at each release based on customer needs and technology trends.

This document outlines the changes in platform and functionality in the 9.3.1 and upcoming 9.4 releases.

This document is comprehensive and covers a number of the product groups across the range.

Some of the key changes to note:

ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.1

• ArcGIS 9.3.1 contained the last release of the Crystal Report Wizard in ArcGIS Desktop; we will no longer provide this technology in ArcGIS 9.4. In ArcGIS 9.4, we have included improved reporting tools and users still have the ability to export data and design reports directly in Crystal Reports, but we will no longer provide any direct exchange technology.

• ArcGIS 9.3.1 was the last release supporting Microsoft Visual Basic 6 (VB6). Microsoft no longer supplies or supports VB6, and we can no longer support this development platform. Users who have custom functionality built using VB6 will need to rewrite their applications using a supported development language (e.g. VB.NET, C#) for their applications to be supported in 9.4.
• ArcGIS 9.3.1 was the last release supporting the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system for all ArcGIS products. We will no longer support Windows 2000 in ArcGIS 9.4.
• ArcGIS 9.3.1 was the last release supporting Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. We will no longer support Visual Studio 2005 at ArcGIS 9.4 due to Microsoft’s lack of support on this platform. We recommend that users use Visual Studio 2008 or higher.

ArcInfo Workstation

• Beyond ArcGIS 9.3, the supported platforms for ArcInfo Workstation will be Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7) and Sun Solaris.

ArcIMS 9.3.1

• ArcGIS 9.3.1 was the last release of the ArcMap Server Extension to ArcIMS; we will no longer provide it in ArcGIS 9.4 release. The ArcGIS Server 9.3.1 release with the optimized map server provides a better and more scalable alternative to the ArcIMS ArcMap Server functionality and is the direction we want users to focus on moving forward.

ArcGIS 9.4

• ArcGIS 9.4 will be the last release of Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); we will no longer support VBA beyond the ArcGIS 9.4 release. Microsoft no longer promotes or updates VBA. ESRI strongly recommends that no further development occur on this platform. Beyond ArcGIS 9.4, ESRI will no longer be able to support VBA as a development platform. Users who have custom functionality built using VBA should actively plan strategies to rewrite their applications using a supported development language such as Python, VB.NET, or C# so their applications continue to be operational and supported in future releases of ArcGIS.

• At ArcGIS 9.4, ArcInfo Workstation will be decoupled from ArcGIS Desktop 9.4, so users will be able to upgrade to newer versions of ArcGIS Desktop without impacting ArcInfo Workstation.
• At ArcGIS 9.4 ArcInfo Workstation will be supported on Windows 7 (this will be the last expected Windows platform upgrade).
• ArcGIS 9.4 will be the last release of ArcInfo Workstation with support for ArcSDE; we will no longer support this functionality after ArcGIS 9.4. Based on support feedback we have learned, there are very few ArcInfo to ArcSDE connections in use anymore.
• The next major release after ArcGIS 9.4 will be the last planned release for ArcInfo Workstation on Windows, which will be the last supported platforms. Users will continue to be able to use their existing versions, but we will not release newer versions.
• The next major release after ArcGIS 9.4 will be the last planned release for ArcIMS on Windows and Linux, which are the last supported platforms. Users can continue to use existing versions of ArcIMS after this time; however, we will no longer provide new releases.

ArcGIS Server 9.4

• ArcGIS 9.4 will be the last release of ArcGIS Server on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 (IE6); we will no longer support this browser with the release after ArcGIS 9.4. Microsoft will be two releases ahead of IE6 by the time ArcGIS 9.4 is available, and IE6 is no longer being actively maintained by Microsoft.

There are many more changes in platform and functionality for ArcGIS 9.3.1 and ArcGIS 9.4. Please have a look at the complete list here: http://downloads2.esri.com/support/…

Note the importance of these changes. With ArcGIS 9.4 coming, users need to be aware of the changes so please bear these in mind when making decisions.