Rich, Responsive Web Map Applications ArcGIS Online Sharing Participate in online data sharing communities ArcGIS Online Sharing is a new way to work with people in GIS who share a common interest such as conservation or engineering. With this Web-based repository, you can share and locate maps, layers, services, and tools. To participate, search the more than 600 existing groups for one that addresses your area of interest. If you can't locate a group that fits your needs, you can create a new group to promote content that others can use and encourage others to share their data. The process of creating a group is not elaborate and requires just a few steps: choose a descriptive and specific title, provide your contact e-mail, and write a description of the group that lets others understand the group's purpose and the type of content that will be shared. The type of group you create, private or public, determines how content can be shared. Public groups that don't accept membership are useful for sharing authoritative content. Private groups are good if you want knowledge of and access to the group to be limited to certain people, perhaps people in your workgroup. If you want to include people you don't know, you can form a public group that accepts members. You will accept or decline requests to join your group. Visit http://www.arcgisonline.com/home/ to learn more about ArcGIS Online Sharing. Going beyond simple map display with free Web mapping APIs The ArcGIS Web mapping APIs are now available for free for all noncommercial use allowing mapping and GIS capabilities to be easily embedded, consumed, and deployed in Web or serviceoriented desktop applications. The Web mapping APIs help organizations deliver rich maps and GIS capabilities that are comparable to desktop mapping applications but with all the benefits of the Web. The APIs provide the tools to generate fast cross-browser and cross-platform dynamic maps, with the ability to interact not only with the map itself but also with its attributes and features. The APIs offer developers several platforms for creating Internet and desktop applications including technologies such as Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flex, and JavaScript. Visit the Web applications section of the ArcGIS Resource Center for ArcGIS Server for live samples, code listings, and support for the ArcGIS Web mapping APIs. Additional Resources for Getting Started Build an application with the ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight A step-by-step tutorial on The Code Project Web site demonstrates how to use Esri's ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight/WPF. "How to Add Maps and GIS into Silverlight Applications" shows how to create a map control and add a geoprocessing task to display drive-time polygons on a map in 1-, 2-, and 3-minute increments. This article, written by Esri staff member David Martinez, provides code listings in C# and a clear explanation of both the how and why of creating this application. Visit http://www. codeproject.com/KB/showcase/GIS_Silverlight. aspx. Often, GIS Web applications need to include geospatial functionality that goes beyond simple map display and interaction. For instance, an appliance repair company could use a geoprocessing task to generate drive-time polygons to estimate the total length of services calls, then use a routing task to calculate the routes and directions before dispatching a vehicle. For these types of functions, the APIs provide a set of task classes to perform GIS tasks. The APIs also allow graphics to be drawn on top of the map (e.g., multipoint, polyline, polygon, and rectangle). In addition, the APIs provide components to display maps that support multiple map projections, as well as both dynamic and cached (tiled) map services. With the APIs, developers can include a variety of tasks in their applications including query, identify, find, address locator, routing, geometry, and geoprocessing. Esri offers the following resources for developers to get started using APIs: n Live samples—Developers can simply copy and paste the source code from various samples from the APIs Resource Centers. n Recorded training seminars—Anyone interested in using the APIs can watch demonstrations and view code samples from Esri experts on how to use the APIs. n ArcGIS Online—With a single URL, developers can leverage maps and tasks published and hosted by Esri. n User community—Download and share code samples through code galleries and exchange ideas with users on discussion forums. n Sample viewer applications—Users can quickly deploy these sample viewers with a simple modification to the application's configuration file, and developers can use the source code to extend the application. For more information, see the Esri instructor-led course Building Web Maps Using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript. www.esri.com 6 ArcUser Fall 2009