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ESRI protocols and programming interfaces |
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Release 9.2
Last modified January 26, 2007 |
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ESRI openly publishes and shares a number of its data and web formats as presented in this topic.
Shapefiles
A Shapefile is a data file format for storing points, lines, polygons, and associated attribute information. This is a very simple, openly published format defined and supported by ESRI -- originally for use in ArcView Version 2 and 3. Shapefiles have been widely used for data interchange across heterogeneous systems due to:
- Their broad use and adoption by many GIS users and organizations as a data sharing format
- Their simplicity
The ESRI shapefile format specification can be found at:
http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/shapefile.pdf.
Geodatabase XML
Geodatabase XML represents ESRI's open mechanism for information interchange between geodatabases and other external systems. ESRI openly publishes and maintains the complete geodatabase schema and content as an XML specification and provides example implementations to illustrate how users can share data updates between heterogeneous systems.
XML interchange of geospatial information to and from the geodatabase is greatly simplified using the geodatabase XML specification. External applications can receive XML data streams including:
- Exchange and sharing of full (as well as portions of) geodatabase schemas between ArcGIS users
- Exchange of complete lossless datasets
- Interchange of simple feature sets (much like shapefile interchange)
- Exchange of change-only (delta) record sets using XML streams to pass updates and changes among geodatabases and other external data structures
Geodatabase XML is the primary interchange mechanism for data sharing among ArcGIS users as well as external users.
To access a white paper on the Geodatabase XML Schema, see XML Schema of the Geodatabase.
Support for the ISO standard for SQL spatial types
ArcSDE geodatabase storage for Oracle, DB2, and Informix uses the OGC and ISO standard for a SQL spatial data type. This provides full geodatabase support and access as well as a SQL interface to feature class geometry. This enables you to write SQL applications using your DBMS that can access and use feature operations and queries in the following DBMS's:
- Oracle
- IBM DB2
- IBM Informix
See An overview of working with a geodatabase using SQL for more information.
Schema for geodatabase storage in Oracle, SQL Server, Informix, and DB2
ESRI documents how geodatabases are stored in relational tables in each DBMS. It also describes how we utilize OGC and ISO simple features and how feature and raster geometry are stored in DBMS's. This includes a description of ArcGIS support for ISO/OGC spatial types in various DBMS's.
For more information, refer to How geodatabases are stored in a DBMS.
ArcXML
ArcXML is the primary XML specification used by ArcIMS for mapping and metadata web services. For example, ArcIMS Feature and Image services are defined on the server using an ArcXML map configuration file.
ArcXML was one of ESRI's original extensible markup language (XML) specifications for publishing maps, data, and metadata. It was developed prior to the W3C SOAP specification for web services that more recent ESRI software uses.
In ArcXML (often referred to as "AXL"), map configuration files contain information regarding map properties, such as a list of layers, spatial information, and layer-rendering instructions. ArcIMS Map Server services use ArcXML for communication between the ArcIMS Server and related client applications.
For more information, see the ArcXML Programmer's Guide.