GIS On The Web:An Overview of ArcIMS

*The easy flow of geographic data can offer real-life solutions in many societal sectors, including municipal government, business and commerce, social and environmental planning, medicine, and science and industry

*an inexpensive and easy way of gathering and transporting geographic data all over the world, the Internet is the perfect forum for analyzing and solving geographic problems, and distributing spatial data

The Web is The Key

ArcIMS Services

*An ArcIMS Service is a fundamental component of ArcIMS, as the ArcIMS server providing the client requested map, data, etc. is, in fact, completing a sevice

*An ArcIMS Service defines how you want your maps to appear on the Web

*We will discuss how to make and manage services a little later . . .

ArcIMS Services*There are three core ArcIMS Services available in a typical ArcIMS installation: Image, Feature, and Metadata

*There is also one optional service: an ArcMap Image Service

ArcIMS ServicesIMAGE SERVICE

*When you use an Image Service, a map image is generated by the map server in JPEG, GIF, or PNG format and sent to the client computer that requested it

*No special processing is required by the client computer

*All the processing takes place on the map server, which generates a new map image each time it receives a request

ArcIMS ServicesFEATURE SERVICE

*For a Feature Service, the spatial server “bundles” the required data together as vectors and attributes (shapefiles), and the ArcIMS server delivers the feature data via a web server

*Unlike Image Services, Feature Services are locally cached and the client computer can perform further geoprocessing on the data (with Arcview in the case of shapefiles)

*Common feature service files include shapefiles, Arc coverages, and geodatabases

ArcIMS ServicesMETADATA SERVICE

*Data producers can publish their metadata to a central metadata location (which stores all IMS metadata, each tagged with the feature, image, or whatever it explains)

*Data consumers can locate required metadata for the IMS in which they have an interest

ArcMAP IMAGE SERVICE

*An ArcMap product can be used to create a service similar to an Image Service

ArcIMS Architecture

ArcIMS Architecture*When the client requests an ArcIMS Service, the request is made across the web to the web server attached to the ArcIMS server, and then passed on

*The IMS server sends a response back to the client via the web server

ArcIMS Architecture

*The client is a user's Web browser or supported software program such as ArcGIS that accesses an ArcIMS viewer on the Web site

*The viewer provides the framework for the Web site; that is, it defines the site's appearance and functionality

ArcIMS ArchitectureThe two principle components of the IMS system is the Web server and the ArcIMS spatial server

WEB SERVER

*A Web server is a computer capable of delivering Web content (along a waveband) across the net

*Every Web server has a unique IP address and a domain name

*The computer has an internet number, referred to as a Uniform Resource Locator, or just URL

ArcIMS ArchitectureWEB SERVER (CONT’D)

*The server will then load the appropriate file from its storage disk and send it through the web browser across the net to the client browser

*Any computer can be converted to a Web server

ArcIMS ArchitectureArcIMS SPATIAL SERVER

*When a request is received, the ArcIMS spatial server performs the required spatial routines/functions:

queryingbuffering geocoding clipping, unioning, etc creating a subset

*The derived “bundled” data can be sent back in shapefile format

ArcIMS Architecture

*A client computer can access an ArcIMS with a Web browser or a supported software program, such as ArcExplorer™ Java Edition or ArcGIS™

*A viewer, created specifically for the site, is used as the interface for the client to talk to the web server

*Standard ArcIMS includes HTML and Java viewers, and supports a full suite of other ESRI software clients such as ArcView, ArcGIS, ArcExplorer, and ArcPad®

ArcIMS ArchitectureHTML VIEWER

*Perform less processing on the client computer than java viewers

ArcIMS ArchitectureJAVA VIEWER

ArcIMS APPLICATIONS*ArcIMS consists of four applications: Author, Administrator, Designer, and Manager

ArcIMS APPLICATIONSArcIMS AUTHOR

*ArcIMS Author is where you define the content for your maps

*You decide what data will be shown and how it will appear on your map

*Appropriate data to post on the site includes shapefiles, a variety of different image types, ArcCoverages, ArcSDE files

ArcIMS APPLICATIONS*ArcIMS Author is where you determine and build how the data will appear on the maps (in the viewer)

*Considerations include:

-scale factors -colours -labels

-map units -geocoding -symbol size/shape

-navigation tools (pan, zoom) -identify tools

*The output for ArcIMS Author is a map configuration file, or AXL file, which defines all the map properties desired

ArcIMS APPLICATIONSArcIMS ADMINISTRATOR

*ArcIMS Administrator controls how the Web site operates

*In administrator, you convert your AXL into an ArcIMS service, be it images, maps, whatever

*Administrator is where you manage all the components of your Web site, including spatial servers, viewers, metadata, etc

ArcIMS APPLICATIONSArcIMS DESIGNER

*ArcIMS Designer is where you build the web site that will house and be used to access data within your IMS

*You must determine how the site will function, given what you have constructed in Author

ArcIMS APPLICATIONSArcIMS DESIGNER

*ArcIMS Designer has a design wizard which allows you to choose from many pre-constructed symbols, etc.

ArcIMS APPLICATIONSArcIMS MANAGER

*ArcIMS Manager “manages” the other applications

*Manager includes wizards to aid the development process using components of ArcIMS Author, ArcIMS Administrator, and ArcIMS Designer

Questions??

Lets look at some sites . . .