type= te t avascript int p intSy script l ; r rap ic = new esri.Grap ic evt. ap s.ArcGISTiledMapServiceLayer; c. eat reType == esri eat reType.esri TSi ple r ect in which a simple mouse click can run nightly tests that answer questions such as Does the application code function as it is supposed to today? Strin tensi nMana er Did I fix something that broke something else? "If I run it at five o'clock again tomorrow and something fails, I know something that I have ser = apserver; written today has broken the application and I need to hunt it down," Noyle said. "Automated monitoring and regression practically ensures code quality from start to finish." ser ; erapi.arc is nline.c PENN STATE | arc is v= . sapi ONLINE sing S . rcG S.Geometry; Geospatial Education Portfolio Penn State offers high-quality online education programs to help you achieve your personal and professional goals. Master of Geographic Information Systems Postbaccalaureate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems Postbaccalaureate Certificate in Geospatial Intelligence www.worldcampus.psu.edu/arcuser Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce. U.Ed.OUT 09-0677/09-WC-147edc/bjm What About the Maps? While this was a GIS developer conference, Noyle's message was not primarily mapcentric, and with good reason. "DTSAgile tries to follow the KISS [Keep It Simple Stupid] principle when choosing a map canvas for its applications," said Noyle. "What is the simplest technology I can use to satisfy the user's requirements? DTSAgile builds very focused, high-performance applications for clients so the map canvas, and nearly all associated code that drives it, usually winds up in an ASP.NET MVC view, specifically as JavaScript code. "Very rarely will I use server controls when building mapping applications," continued Noyle. "We code against the ArcGIS Server REST API wherever possible, and if we need to build advanced spatial functionality, we will typically surface it as a REST resource—not surprisingly as an ASP.NET MVC Controller method—that calls a custom server object extension or COM utility." Near the end of his presentation, Noyle showed an abundance of mapping applications that used ArcGIS Server APIs for REST and JavaScript, and the ArcGIS Extension for Microsoft Virtual Earth API, and OpenLayers. "Esri and other vendors have made mapping so easy for us that we can now focus on tailoring applications to customers' specific needs." Should Noyle's customers care about the MVC architecture, compliant HTML, RESTful access to mapping resources, or all the unit testing that go into producing one of his applications? Not according to Noyle. "The bottom line is that we have seen a paradigm shift in expectations since Google Maps shipped in 2005. As an industry collective, we need to realize that our bosses, our clients, and our users expect fast, robust, focused apps that provide relevant information right now. They don't care about the bits and bytes that do it." Perhaps it is appropriate, then, that Noyle's presentation, focusing on technology examples and architectural patterns and practices to increase development velocity and code quality, brought developer focus back where it belongs: to users and clients. ArcUser Summer 2009 41 www.esri.com