Java

Desktop Applications

Developers can use their Java Standard Edition (SE) experience, whether in Eclipse or within other integrated development environments, to create desktop GIS client applications with ArcGIS to consume and process local solutions or server solutions via the Web or a local area network (LAN).

• Edit, update and manage your geospatial databases.
• Embed 2D and 3D mapping controls in your application to allow users to zoom, pan, and rotate maps with ArcGIS Engine.
• Display, track, analyze, and manipulate temporal data within a Java Engine desktop application.
• Add graphic objects-such as points, polygons, multipoints, polylines, and multipatches-to represent specific features in your application.
• Create non-visual GIS data processing programs.

To learn more about building GIS desktop applications, visit the ArcGIS Engine Resource Center.

Web Applications

Rich Internet and Pure Browser

ESRI provides, cross-browser, client-side Web Mapping APIs for JavaScript and Flex that allows you to build lightweight Internet applications using ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Server services.

• Display your data on an ArcGIS Online or a Bing Maps base map.
• Add graphics and markup to a map interactively.
• Locate addresses and display the results.
• Embed JavaScript components in standard Portlets.

The APIs are free to use in noncommercial external environments. Download ArcGIS API for Flex or reference ArcGIS APIs for JavaScript in your applications.

Server Side

For Java EE developers, ESRI offers the Web ADF for the Java platform, a Java web framework that extends the JavaServer FacesT (JSF) specification.

• Create "stateful" or "stateless" GIS Web applications without writing code using the Web mapping template in ArcGIS Server.
• Use AJAX-enabled Web controls to pan and zoom, display maps, find addresses, and perform GIS data processing tasks in your application.
• Use the Web ADF AJAX library to access the Web controls in JavaScript.

To learn more about the Java Web ADF, visit the ArcGIS Server Resource Center.

Web Services

The ArcGIS Server platform provides spatial Web Services and a Web Services SDK that help developers in delivering geographic information to Java enterprise applications.

• Consume ArcGIS Server services to serve maps, find address locations, perform routing analysis, access raster data, and provide 2D and 3D spatial analysis.
• Use standards-based Java APIs for REST and SOAP to interact programmatically with ArcGIS Web services.
• Publish and share your maps and data in KML and Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC), format using ArcGIS Web services.

To learn more about publishing and consuming Web services, visit the ArcGIS Server Resource Center.

Extending ArcGIS with Java

ESRI provides a framework for developing your own extensions that plug-in seamlessly with other ESRI software components called ArcObjects. ArcGIS provides support to develop and deploy extensions in a native Java environment through Eclipse IDE plug-ins and tools. These extensions can be consumed in ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Engine, or ArcGIS Server applications because of their common ArcObjects platform. The following types of extensions can be developed and deployed:

• Server Object Extensions and utility objects that add custom functionality and optimize performance in ArcGIS Server applications.
• Custom GIS data processing tools for advanced spatial analysis and modeling.
• Feature renderers for custom visualization of data.
• Custom data behavior and eventing in a geodatabase.
• Plug-in data sources to integrate external or proprietary data formats.

Learn more about Extending ArcGIS in the respective help areas.

• Extending ArcGIS Server
• Extending ArcGIS Engine