File Geodatabase API Available

Today sees a major step in the progressive replacement of the good old ESRI Shape File as default mean to store and mange your geospatial data.  The File Geodatabase API provides a non-ArcObjects based means by which advanced developers can work with File Geodatabases. A common user scenario is to open File Geodatabase tables in non-ESRI applications to view or modify data. This API provides access to the low-level File Geodatabase file I/O modules.

It can do the following:

• Create, Open and Delete file geodatabases
• Read the schema of the geodatabase
  • All content within a geodatabase can be opened for read access
• Create schema for objects within the simple feature model
  • Tables
  • Point, Line, and Polygon feature classes
  • Feature datasets
  • Domains
  • Subtypes
• Read the contents of datasets in a geodatabase
  • All dataset content within a geodatabase can be read
• Insert, Delete and Edit the contents of simple datasets:
  • Tables
  • Point, Line, Polygon, Multipoint, and Multipatch feature classes
• Perform attribute and (limited) spatial queries on datasets
  • Spatial queries will be limited to the envelope-intersects operator

As per reported by James Fee: “First off there is no raster support. Second you are totally on your own here. You have total control over screwing up your geodatabases here.” Obviously ESRI would still recommend using ArcObject as the best approach for handling data in the geodatabase. I notice that it does not either handles the topology rules or class relationships. This means that this API is very much aimed at a replacement to the shapefile, to store your vector data.  I still think that the release of this API will provide a great mean to enhance interoperability with ESRI and other product. This provides a mean to manage your geospatial data without having to pay a high price for the ESRI product.

The ArcGIS File Geodatabase API is being made available through the ArcGIS Resource Centre. The API comes packaged with everything you need to get started including samples and a readme

ESRI Certfication

Starting on 17th January, Esri has openned the Esri Technical Certification Program examinations.

The program recognizes people skilled in desktop, developer, and enterprise use of Esri technology. Certifications are currently being offered for

• • ArcGIS Desktop Associate
• • ArcGIS Desktop Professional
• • Web Application Developer Associate
• • Enterprise Geodatabase Management Associate
• • Enterprise Administration Associate

Note that eight more certifications will be added to the program later this year and into 2012.

To learn more or register for a certification examination, listen to ESRI podcast. Exams are offered in English and are available at 5,000 locations in 165 countries.  ESRI announced that the Certification exams cost $225 USD.

ESRI Developper Conference – Flex Challenge

ESRI Inc. has just launch a new challenge, in preperation to next developer conference. It is to do with the customisation of their ArcGIS Viewer for Flex.

1. Download the compiled package of the latest version of ArcGIS Viewer for Flex—it’s free.

2. Either modify an existing core widget or create your own custom widget from scratch—the widget must work with ArcGIS Viewer for Flex 2.2 or higher.

3. Upload your widget to the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex Code Gallery and share it with everyone. Complete instructions coming soon.

4. Then starting on January 14, 2011, fill out the Flex-A-Widget Challenge registration form and provide the link to your widget details page on ArcGIS.com.

PRIZES

1st prize

• Adobe Creative Suite Web (donated by Adobe)
• 1 free pass to the 2012 ESRI Developer Summit in Palm Springs, CA
• 1 EDN Subscription

2nd prize

• 1 free pass to the 2012 ESRI Developer Summit
• 1 EDN Subscription

3rd prize

• 1 EDN Subscription

The winners and the first 100 participants who submit a widget will receive a custom Flex-A-Widget t-shirt. Limit one t-shirt per person.

One Step closer to ArcGIS 10

Following the DeveloperHub Conference, ESRI (UK) has released the material from the presentation. These are available on their site. This conference was an opportunity to get the latest news in for the most awaited ArcGIS 10. The following presentation gives the latest news.

There seems to be a lot of exiting news feature forecasted with ArcGIS 10. Here is a quick non exhaustive summary of the presentation.

ArcGIS Desktop:

-          Dynamic TOC

-          Integrated Search

-          ArcCatalog now integrated in ArcMap, for easier access to the data

-          Better graphs and reports

-          Performance improvement:

• Fast map display
  • New Basemap layer
  • Easy to create and manage
• Fast map navigation
  • Continuous pan and zoom
  • Mouse or keyboard control
• Fast high quality
  • Map ServicesMaplex
  • Cartographic Representations

-          Improved Editing

• EasyDataEntry2Dand3D
• SymbolBasedEditing
• Pre-attributedFeatures

-          Map Generation improvement

• Easier creation of multiple map scale, with the use of generalisation

ArcGIS Server

-          More flexibility in the install process

• Separate GIS Services Setup and Web Applications Setup.
• Install the Web services endpoints on their own
• Services portion of Manager is an optional installation
• Applications portion of Manager for creating and administering Web applications is a third optional piece.

-          Increased monitoring of SOC processes

• ArcSOCMon.exe, runs on each server object container (SOC) machine, monitoring the state of the SOC processes

-          Logging offloaded to SOCs

-          New feature service:

• REST, Stateless and fast, simple view of the Geodatabase
• Exposes access to vector feature geometries and attributes.
• Supports feature editing through JavaScript, Flex, and Silverlight applications. This includes new widget for data editing.
• Works with ArcGIS Feature Templates
• New AMF output support

ESRI 2010 Mashup Challenge

ESRI has just published a new released, the the 2010 Maspup Challenge is now openned. The closing date is March 5th, 2010.

To get started:

1. Build a mashup using ArcGIS Online and ESRI Web Mapping APIs
2. Shoot a video of your application and post it on YouTube
3. Submit your mashup. Deadline: March 5, 2010

Cash Prizes

1st Place: $10,000
2nd Place: $5,000
3rd Place: $2,500
4th Place: $2,500

Good Luck!

ArcGIS 9.4 now called ArcGIS 10

The ArcGIS 9.4 release was renamed ArcGIS 10 in January. Listen to ESRI President Jack Dangermond explain why in a podcast.

ESRI has also made available a press release detailing the content of this release.

The ArcGIS 10 beta release is now available. ArcGIS 10 is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2010.

So what are some of the planned improvements for ArcGIS 10, geochalkboard is presenting further elements on the release of ArcGIS 10 and its BETA program. :

* Improved rendering engine for better performance when panning and zooming
* The geoprocessing wizard is back after a fashion
* ArcCatalog window is added in ArcMap
* Simplified Geocoding
* Improved map creation tools such as new tools for multiscale maps, support for multipage layouts, and dynamic text in layouts (basically they incorporated the DSMapbook routine we all use into the core product)
* Simplified editing including sketch based editing using palettes in both the desktop and web, easier access to common tools in ArcMap, ArcScene, & Globe
* Integration of time data and analysis including the ability to create and publish animation.
* Improve raster handling performance
* Ability to check out licenses for use in the field or temporary offices
* Enhanced interface using enhanced resolution icons and such. (Looks very much like the newest versions of AutoCAD to me)

HTML 5 – GEOLOCATION API

With the latest HTML5 editor’s draft version being published, today I will be discussing the new HTML 5 Geolocation API. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have published a Geolocation API specification that allows a web page to query the user’s location using JavaScript to access objects exposed by the browser.

Firefox 3.5 was the first mainstream implementation of this API. Combined with Firefox Google did not waste any time, and it is now possible to share you location with the rest of the world, you may wish to click on the new “Show my Location” in Google Map.

In order to identify the location of a web user, web developer had to use the Server IP address, resulting is some level of inaccuracy. The following web site (http://whatismyipaddress.com/) provides a good illustration of the level of inaccuracy resulting with this technique, as you can experience by yourself.

As per presented in the following article HTML 5 and enabled browser (e.g. Firefox 3.5) do now offer a new generation of Geolocation with the new JavaScript API which is based on wireless Geolocation; much more accurate.

Thanks to the following simple set of JavaScript, you will be able to get very detailed location from where you are browsing; enabling true location based service!

This API will only work if you authorise it, in Firefox this manifests the following way.

<script language=”Javascript”>

if (navigator.geolocation) {

navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(position) {

ZoomToLocation(position.coords.latitude, position.coords.longitude);

});

}

else {

if (document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”)) {

document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”).innerHTML = “I’m sorry but Geolocation services are not supported by your browser – use Firefox 3.5″;

document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”).style.color = “#FF0000″;

}

}

function ZoomToLocation (mylat, mylong) {

if (document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”)) {

//Implement a zoom to location

document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”).innerHTML = “mylat: ” + mylat + “ mylong: ” + mylong;

}

}

</script>

I have now integrated this solution with the ESRI JavaScript API. A fully working example is available at the following location: http://blog.geo-tag.info/Geolocation/Geolocation.htm.

ArcGIS 9.3.1 SP 1

ESRI has just released ArcGIS 9.3.1 SP1, for full detailed visite the ESRI support site. Another long list of issues fixed .

UK Mapping Data Goes Free

In the UK over the last few weeks there seems to be a lot of movement toward freeing mapping data, it is all good news.

Ordnance Survey – Base Mapping

For few years a battle had been started in the UK to free mapping data, as relayed by the newspaper Guardian. It looks like that campaign has won a major victory! See the following article for further details

On November 19^th Gordon Brown had made the announcement that the government intends to make Ordnance Survey maps free for use online by any organisation – including commercial ones – at resolutions more detailed than commercial 1:25,000 Landranger maps from April next year.

“Mid-range” maps, with resolutions from 1:10,000 upwards, will be made available for re-use, under the plans announced by the prime minister, along with information on postcode areas and electoral and council boundaries.

Postcode Sectors

Today the BBC confirmed the release of postcode data.  The move will be made as part of government’s commitment to make more use of technology and the web to transform official services. It appears that data will be freed by April 2010. The datasets to be freed is related to the postcodes sectors.

BGS Onshore Geological  Mapping

The good news does not stop there! The last few days BGS (British Geological Society) has announced the release of a new WMS to access 1:50K geological data, DiGMapGB-50.

Up to four themes of polygon or area information are available:

• Bedrock Geology;
• Superficial Deposits;
• Mass Movement;
• Artificial Ground.

The WMS is available in BNG and Lat/Long (WGS84)

• WMS 1.3.0 GetMap request against bedrock in British National Grid (BNG)
• WMS 1.3.0 GetMap request against superficial in Lat/Long WGS84 (WGS84)
• WMS 1.1.1 GetMap request against artificial ground in BNG
• WMS 1.1.1 GetMap request against mass movement in WGS84

Conclusion

For those who follow my blog might have noticed a recent post I published with the integration of OpenSpace (OS Base Mapping) with the ESRI ArcGIS JavaScript, extending the TiledMapServiceLayer.

This time, I have integrated the BGS WMS; by extending the DynamicMapServiceLayer. For further detail s on how to extend this type of layer, please refer to the following sample on the ESRI community web site.

Visit the following page to see the 1:50K geological map over OpenSpace base mapping.

OS OpenSpace & ArcGIS Server JavaScript Integration

Introduction

The following post presents an implementation of Open Space from Ordnance Survey with the ArcGIS Server JavaScript API.  In the tutorial, I will explain how to create a custom tile layer and extending the esri.layers.TiledMapServiceLayer. This tutorial is inspired from the following ESRI How-to: http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisserver/apis/javascript/arcgis/help/jssamples/layers_custom_tiled.html.

A full example is available at the following location, click on the image.

Background

Ordnance survey has released their Web Mapping API, Open Space for quite a while, . This provides a feed to the various OS mapping layer, including: 1:50K, 1:10K, mini-scale and street view.

Before progressing further with this tutorial, you will need to register with OS to acquire a Key: .

Although Open Space can easily be integrated with the like of Open Layer, the integration with ESRI ArcGIS Server API (JavaScript, Flex, etc) can presents some major advantages:

• Tighter integration with back-end geo-processing services
• Scalable framework with the use of DOJO, when using the JavaScript API.
• Overlay data directly from your geo-database (ArcSDE, Oracle Spatial) using ArcGIS Server.

Thanks to Fiddler (http://www.fiddler2.com/fiddler2/), a Web Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP(S) traffic between your computer and the Internet, it became very quickly visible that Open Space tiling is actually composed by a number of calls to a WMS: http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmapapi/ts?FORMAT=image%2Fpng&KEY=6694613F8B469C97E0405F0AF160360A&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fopenspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk%2Fopenspace%2Fsupport.html&SERVICE=WMS&VERSION=1.1.1&REQUEST=GetMap&STYLES=&EXCEPTIONS=application%2Fvnd.ogc.se_inimage&LAYERS=500&SRS=EPSG%3A27700&BBOX=700000,0,800000,100000&WIDTH=200&HEIGHT=200

Ordnance Survey provides a number of layers, ranging from:  2500, 500,100, 50,25,10,5, 1; which relates to the following level of mapping. A range of Ordnance Survey raster products are displayed at each zoom level:

• outline of Great Britain (zoom level 0);
• overview of Great Britain (zoom level 1-2);
• MiniScale® (zoom level 3-4);
• 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster (zoom level 5-6);
• 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster (zoom level 7-8); and
• OS Street View® (zoom level 9-10).

Ordnance survey has unfortunately made thing a bit more complex at the level of OS Street View. The tile size changes from 200*200 to 250*250.

Integration

In order to use Open Space mapping data with ArcGIS Server Tiled Map Service Layer, one must extend the esri.layers.TiledMapServiceLayer.

Firstly, one must declare the Origin of the tiles. Annoyingly, Open Space only accepts the British National Grid (EPSG 27700), and according to OS there is no plan to extend to Lat / long.  This means that the origin of the tile is different to the coordinates system.

{
“rows”: 200,
“cols”: 200,
“dpi”: 96,
“format”: “PNG32″,
“compressionQuality” : 0,
“origin”: {
“x”:0,
“y”: 1500000
},

Note that the rows and columns size will be fixed to 200 px, depsite the change of tile size at Street View level. The change of tile size will be handled by the scalling references.

After declaring coordinate system, it is now time to declare the zoom level, beraing in mind that the change of tile size.

“lods”: [{ "level": 2500, "scale": 500000, "resolution":2500 },

{ "level": 500, "scale":100000, "resolution": 500},

{ "level": 100, "scale": 20000, "resolution": 100 },

{ "level": 50, "scale": 10000, "resolution":50},

{"level": 25,"scale": 5000,"resolution": 25},

{"level": 10,"scale": 2000,"resolution": 10},

{"level": 5,"scale": 1000,"resolution":5},

{"level": 1,"scale": 250,

/* the resolution must be adjusted as OS tiles are at that level 250 *250 rather 200 *200*/

"resolution": 1.25

}]

Having declared the new “OpenSpace” tile layer, the last remaining operation is the implementation of the GettileUrl function.

getTileUrl: function(level, row, col) {

//Change the size of the. At the lowest level OS tile size differs.

if (level > 2) {

width = 200;

height = 200;}

else{

width = 250;

height = 250;

}

//Set the parameters for the OS WMS

var xmin = (map.__LOD.scale * col) + 0;

var ymin = 1500000 – map.__LOD.scale – (map.__LOD.scale * (row));

var xmax = xmin + map.__LOD.scale;

var ymax = ymin + map.__LOD.scale;

/*At level 1000 OS seems to be returning the wrong type of tile, See the folowing http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmapapi/ts?FORMAT=image%2Fpng&KEY=6694613F8B469C97E0405F0AF160360A&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fopenspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk%2Fopenspace%2Fsupport.html&SERVICE=WMS&VERSION=1.1.1&REQUEST=GetMap&STYLES=&EXCEPTIONS=application%2Fvnd.ogc.se_inimage&LAYERS=500&SRS=EPSG%3A27700&BBOX=700000,0,800000,100000&WIDTH=200&HEIGHT=200*/

if ((xmax > 700000) && (level < 2500) )

{return “”;}

var Key = “795ACB371BF9802AE0405F0AF1607DC5″;

return “http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmapapi/ts?FORMAT=image%2Fpng&KEY=”+ Key  +”&”+”VERSION=1.1.1&REQUEST=GetMap&STYLES=&EXCEPTIONS=application%2Fvnd.ogc.se_inimage&”+”LAYERS=”+ level +”&SRS=EPSG%3A27700&BBOX=”+ xmin +”,”+ ymin +”,”+ xmax +”,”+ ymax +”&WIDTH=” + width +”&HEIGHT=”+ height +”";

}

The new OpenSpace Tiel layer is now ready to be integrated with the map and any other ArcGIS Server layer.

layer1 = new OpenSpace();

map.addLayer(layer1);

layer2 = new esri.layers.ArcGISDynamicMapServiceLayer(“http://sampleserver1.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Demographics/ESRI_Population_World/MapServer”, {

opacity: 0.6

});

map.addLayer(layer2);

References

Example Source Code: http://www.geo-tag.info/OpenSpace/OpenSpaceLayer.zip

ESRI JavaScript API: http://resources.esri.com/arcgisserver/index.cfm?fa=JSAPIs