ArcGIS ch. 2
February 20, 2008
Introducing ArcGIS Desktop
ArcGIS Desktop is a GIS software product line. The entry-level model is ArcReader, a product that comes with every ArcGIS installation or can be downloaded for free from the ESRI Web site. ArcReader lets you view and print digital maps created by others, navigate to different parts of the map, and zoom to various levels to detail. ArcView makes the maps and data that ArcReader can only view and print. With ArcView, you can also query data; analyze spatial relationships like distance, intersection, and containment among map featuers; and overlay layers to discover how different types of data are interrelated as particular locations. ArcEditor gives you complete ArcView functionality and has additional data creation and editing tools. Other features include versioning, which allows multiple users to edit data simultaneously, and disconnected editing, which allows data to be checked out of a database, edited in the field, and then checked back in. At the top of thel ine ARcInfo gives you complete ArcEditor also comes bundled with ArcInfo Workstation, a parallel, self-standing GIS software product. ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo share a common user interface and can freely exchange maps and data.
GIS tasks can be broadly divided into two categories. One includes mapmaking editing, and spatial analysis; the other includes database design and data management. This division is reflected in the ArcMap and ArcCatalog applications of which ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo are composed. ArcMap is the application for making maps and analyzing data.
You can augment the capabilities of ArcGIS Desktop with specialized extension products that are fully integrated with ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo. ArcGIS Spatial Analyst maps and analyzes measured data like elevation, rainfall, or chemical concentrations. By dividing geographic space into a matrix of square cells that store numbers, ArcGIS Spatial Analysis allows you to represent, query, and statistically summarize this kind of data. You can also estimate values at unmeasured locations through the mathematical interpolation of know sample values. ArcGIWS 3D Analyst gives you the ability to see spatial data in three dimensions. You can “fly thorugh” terrain and examine it from any height or angle. ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst lets you evaluate measured spatial data according to statistical principles. You can explore the value distributions of data sets, compare them to normal distributions and to each other, and look for correlations between different types of data.
ArcGIS Desktop is just one of the four parts of ArcGIS 9, which also includes mobile GIS, embedded GIS, and server GIS. Mobile GIS goes into the field is used by people who record and use geographic data in the field–surveyors, field techniques, delivery people–the ArcPad software product provides essential GIS functions on pocket computers. Server GIS goes over the internet and through the enterprise using ArcIMS and ArcGIS Server are used to build Web sites that deliver maps, data, and information–like driving directions or ATM locations–over the Internet. They bring GIS to people who don’t have GIS software themselves. ArcSDE manages the exchange of information between ArcGIS and relational database management systems, such as Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2, Informix, and Oracle. It enables users throughout an enterprise to share and edit centrally stored geographic data. Embedded GIS goes everywhere through the use of ArcGIS Engine makes it possible to embed GIS functionality in other products. Software developers can add mapmaking and spatial analysis capabilities to their custom-built applications or to off-the-shelf software products.
