This was another session I was really looking forward to. The new ArcGIS JavaScript API is a new API that has been made available in ArcGIS 9.3. The API allows you to embed tasks and maps in your application. The ArcGIS JavaScript API is built on top of the DOJO framework. It allows you to use a number tasks which includes queries, locate, find and identify. Some of my notes from this session is below: The ArcGIS JavaScript API will be hosted by ESRI. This has advantages which will allow a shorter release cycle for updates and bug fixes. The ArcGIS JavaScript API can also be hosted by your...

This was the first technical session where we started to get more in depth about  some of the technology. I had been holding out for this session for quite a while and by the end I was very impressed. The ArcGIS Server REST API is new for ArcGIS Server 9.3. The Java and .NET platforms have been REST enabled. So why have they developed this REST API? Well it’s there so developers can do things simply. Here are some of my notes from the session: With ArcGIS Server 9.3 there is a new geometry service which is a computational service that provides basic geometric operations for web service...

After a quick break from a pretty full on plenary session at the ESRI Developer Summit, it was onto the road map sessions. I attended the ArcGIS Server road map session. I had mixed feelings about this session as it wasn’t really a road map but more of a showcase of what’s coming again. Some of the notes I gathered are as follows: There will be geodatabase support for Postgres, Oracle Express and DB2 with ArcSDE 9.3. Many new features have been added to the map caching side of things along with the ability to write Python scripts to do data updates and cache maintenance. There is a new...

Wow! It has been a pretty full on day here at the ESRI Developer Summit in Palm Springs. The ESRI Developer Summit kicked off this morning. The plenary session was a lot bigger than that of the ESRI Business Partner Conference. It felt almost as twice as big in fact! From the introduction video that was played I really liked the following line: Code to LiveLive to Code I think this sum’s up dedicated developers really well! Jim Mckinney who is the ArcGIS Product Manager kicked things off talking about some numbers for this years conference: 1300 developers are attending from 69 organisations...

Wow after a long flight we have finally arrived in Palm Springs. It’s a bit cooler than expected but still nice. We are staying at Hotel Zoso as mentioned before. I have to say I am impressed with the hotel. Older style villas which have been converted into new modern style rooms. I received an email from James Fee earlier today, he will be in Palm Springs tomorrow. I see he has posted about this here: http://www.spatiallyadjusted.com/2008/… I will be around the place so feel free to email me if you want to catch up for a drink or some food. You can contact me via my contact form here:...

ESRI has posted the questions and answers that many developers and users out their had before attending the Developer Summit in Palm Springs next week. Dear Developer: I want to thank you for your feedback on the summit questionnaire. Please read the responses to your questions below before attending the ESRI Developer Summit (DevSummit). Although you share many concerns with the broader ESRI user community, I also understand that, as a developer, you have some unique challenges. I urge you to share insight into your interests and suggestions with the ESRI staff at the summit. While developing with...

A new press release has been published from ESRI. The press release talks about the upcoming Developer Summit in Palm Springs and some of things to look forward to. Strengthen Your Skills to Deploy Better Solutions at the Only GIS Conference Created by Developers, for Developers Redlands, California—ESRI, the world leader in geographic information system (GIS) technology, invites software developers from around the world to participate in the 2008 ESRI Developer Summit, held March 17–20, 2008, at the Wyndham Hotel and Palm Springs Convention Center in California. With more than 1,200...

So one of the the many cool things about attending the ESRI Developer Summit, is that you get to meet the development teams. Many of them will be presenting technical sessions throughout the conference but you will also have a chance to catch up and have a talk to them about your experiences with ArcGIS Server or other ArcGIS products. ESRI loves to hear you feedback to it’s a good time to have a talk about it. As part of the “Meet The Development Teams” event of the ESRI Developer Summit, note the following times related to ArcGIS Server: ArcGIS Mobile: Tuesday, March 18, 1:30...

Wow, it’s been a pretty full week here. I have been busy building some cool demonstrations for clients and sorting out some of our Technical Solutions servers. We have moved to using Sun hardware now on our Technical Solutions side. Sun Microsystems New Zealand was very kind to provide us with hardware to use for hosting and delivering our demonstrations. I have been doing some pretty cool stuff with the 3D Analyst Extension in ArcGIS to do with viewshed analysis and if I am allowed to I might publish this up as it’s a pretty neat demonstration of what you can achieve by using some of these...

ESRI has announced the keynote speaker for the upcoming Developer Summit in Palm Springs. Alan Cooper who is the founder and chairman of the board of Cooper. Alan Cooper, a pioneering software inventor, programmer, designer, and theorist and widely known as the “father of Visual Basic,” has been helping companies invent powerful, usable, and desirable software for the last decade. His visionary ideas have been considered controversial before becoming accepted as common practice. Should be an interesting keynote. Last year Mark Driver who is the vice president and research director at...