What's new in ArcGIS Server 9.3
What's new in ArcGIS Server 9.3 |
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| Release 9.3 |
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This document provides a quick overview of some of the new features you'll find in ArcGIS Server 9.3. For more details on any feature, see the What's New in ArcGIS 9.3 PDF available on the ESRI Website, or use the Search and Index features in this Help system to find your topic of interest.
Everything you need in one convenient location
Visit the ArcGIS Server Resource Center for everything you want to know about ArcGIS Server. Get the latest news, run live Web applications, read the latest online help, see what the development team is up to on the ArcGIS Server Development Blog, view developer code samples, and access the ESRI Support site for any technical problems.
Easy access to base map data
ArcGIS Server 9.3 is tightly integrated with ArcGIS Online, making it easy create Web applications that display your content over ArcGIS Online's base map layers. ArcGIS Online includes a number of map layers covering a range of geographic themes. When building Web Mapping Applications with ArcGIS Server Manager, you have immediate access to the map layers of ArcGIS Online.
Better documentation
You asked us for more and better documentation and we think you'll be happy with what 9.3 delivers. You'll notice improvements in many areas. In the Desktop Help, you'll find more information about preparing your resources-maps, geoprocessing toolboxes and so on-for publishing to the server. In ArcGIS Server Help, you'll find improved conceptual topics, expanded discussions of workflows, and more step-by-step tutorials. For developers, you'll find lots of new content describing the new developer options such as the new ArcGIS Javascript APIs, complete documentation for the ArcGIS Server SOAP SDK that describes how to use SOAP to access ArcGIS Server Web services, and more thorough descriptions of existing classes and methods in the Web ADFs with numerous of code samples.
ArcGIS Server Manager
When you run Manager, you'll immediately notice several changes at 9.3, with the most visible being the reorganization of Manager's tabbed interface. Many of the changes are a result of adding new features to Manager, such as allowing you to more easily configure security for services and Web applications. However, we've also spent time improving existing workflows, for instance, the workflow for building a Web Mapping Application.
Web Mapping Application
While the Web Mapping Application essentially works the same way it did at 9.2, it looks slightly different at 9.3. This is because the tools that you use to interact with the map have been rearranged so that you can access them more easily, for example, the pan and zoom tools are now positioned on top of the map display. 9.3 also introduces some new features in the Web Mapping Application, such as a print option and better highlighting of task results.
Better workflows for caching map and globe services
New workflows at 9.3 make it easier to create and update map and globe service caches in ArcCatalog. For map services, you can now build the cache for specific geographic areas and also allow the cache to be created on demand through usage. For globe services, the reliance on ArcGlobe is minimized and you can now completely build the cache on the server. ArcMap and ArcGIS Explorer also provide new options for clearing any locally stored cache, ensuring that the visual display is always up to date.
New image service
9.3 provides another option for publishing raster data to your GIS server through an image service. The image service allows you to deliver large volumes of imagery to your clients. Integration with ArcGIS Image Server allows you to reduce the time between collection and publishing of image content and leverage the powerful image processing capabilities in a Web environment.
Enhanced geoprocessing service
The geoprocessing service at 9.3 provides better feedback during publishing, improved performance, and more symbolization options for the generated results. Plus, there's lots of new documentation and samples that show you how to build your geoprocessing tools.
New geometry service
The geometry service provides access to sophisticated geometric operations such as projection, buffering, and evaluating spatial relationships for client applications that don't have the ability to perform such operations independently.
Matching addresses can now be returned in a specified coordinate system
At 9.2, geocoding services could only return matching addresses in the same coordinate system as the locator defining the service. At 9.3, you can now request that the matching addresses be returned using a specific coordinate system.
Browsing a GIS server with the Services Directory
The ArcGIS Services Directory is a Web application that's part of every GIS server. Services Directory lets you see the services running on the GIS server and get information necessary for developing applications that use the services.
Enhanced Security
At 9.3, ArcGIS Server implements a role based security model that allows you to define a set of users, assign permissions to them based on the role they assume, and grant access to particular services and Web applications. You perform all of these activities through the new Security tab in Manager.
More detailed logging messages
Tracking down problems can often be a difficult and frustrating experience. 9.3 makes it easier to track down problems occurring on your GIS server by allowing you to turn on more detailed messaging when necessary. For each type of service, you'll find the log file will record additional information to help you troubleshoot a problem. For example, a map service will write information to the log file that indicates whether each layer was drawn successfully or not.
Integration with ArcGIS Image Server
The power of ArcGIS Image Server can now be integrated with ArcGIS Server. Simply register your ArcGIS Image Server with ArcGIS Server in Manager or ArcCatalog. Then you can utilize your imagery through ArcGIS Server client applications.
Enhanced KML delivery
At 9.2, if you wanted to deliver your map services to people using Google Earth, you used Manager to author a KML network link that you could then send out to them. Upon opening the network link, the map service would then display over the globe in Google Earth. Now at 9.3, map and image services automatically generate a network link that can be accessed via a URL. People can use the Services Directory Web application to browse all your services and display them in ArcGIS Explorer, Google Earth or any other application that directly supports KML. Alternatively, you might embed the URLs to your services directly on your organization's Website, providing a more tailored user experience than that of Services Directory. As an added benefit, the service metadata gets indexed by search engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo) allowing your services to be found simply by doing Web searches.
Extended OGC support
9.3 adds additional support for Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards-Web Coverage Service (WCS) and Web Feature Service (WFS)-that improve your ability to integrate with virtually any client application that supports these commonly accepted GIS and IT standards. Enhanced Web Map Service (WMS) support now allows you to utilize Styled Layer Descriptors (SLD) that define how to draw layers.
New tools for building Web mashups
It is now easy for Web developers to create map mashups that overlay content from any GIS server with content from ArcGIS Online, Virtual Earth, or Google Maps. The ArcGIS JavaScript API allows you to easily embed maps in your Web pages. This API is hosted by ESRI and is available for free use. The ArcGIS JavaScript extension for the Google Maps API and ArcGIS JavaScript extension for Virtual Earth allow you to add ArcGIS Server content on top of Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth, respectively. No ESRI development or deployment license is required to use these APIs.
New ArcGIS Server REST API and Services Directory Web application
As an application developer, you'll use the ArcGIS Services Directory to help you build applications that utilize the services running on a GIS server. Services Directory is a Web application deployed with every GIS server that allows you to browse the contents of the server and get specific information about the services running on the server. Services Directory works through the ArcGIS Server REST API. Simply put, the REST API allows a GIS server to reveal information about its services through URLs. The JavaScript APIs mentioned above are all powered by the ArcGIS Server REST services.
Enhanced Web ADF for building Web applications (Microsoft .NET Framework)
The enhancements for 9.3 in the Web ADF include the following: faster map blending, fully documented WebADF JavaScript library, full integration with ASP.NET AJAX, support for Visual Studio 2008, and better documentation.
Build and deploy mobile projects from Manager
In much the same way you build and deploy the Web Mapping Application, Manager for the Microsoft .NET framework now includes the tools to build and manage mobile projects. For more information, see the section on Mobile GIS in this document.