ArcGIS 9.4 now called ArcGIS 10

The ArcGIS 9.4 release was renamed ArcGIS 10 in January. Listen to ESRI President Jack Dangermond explain why in a podcast.

ESRI has also made available a press release detailing the content of this release.

The ArcGIS 10 beta release is now available. ArcGIS 10 is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2010.

So what are some of the planned improvements for ArcGIS 10, geochalkboard is presenting further elements on the release of ArcGIS 10 and its BETA program. :

* Improved rendering engine for better performance when panning and zooming
* The geoprocessing wizard is back after a fashion
* ArcCatalog window is added in ArcMap
* Simplified Geocoding
* Improved map creation tools such as new tools for multiscale maps, support for multipage layouts, and dynamic text in layouts (basically they incorporated the DSMapbook routine we all use into the core product)
* Simplified editing including sketch based editing using palettes in both the desktop and web, easier access to common tools in ArcMap, ArcScene, & Globe
* Integration of time data and analysis including the ability to create and publish animation.
* Improve raster handling performance
* Ability to check out licenses for use in the field or temporary offices
* Enhanced interface using enhanced resolution icons and such. (Looks very much like the newest versions of AutoCAD to me)

London DataStore – UK mapping is getting freer

As announced in the Guardian news paper, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/06/london-datastore-launch-johnson-mashups, Boris Johnson has launched a new GIS data store for London with hundreds of datasets available for free and to be used in mash-up.

The site will be fully available at the end of January and the following address: http://data.london.gov.uk/. So far the following data category seems to be available:

Business and Economy

Crime and Community Safety

Demographics

Employment and Skills

Health

Housing

Planning

Transparency

The current list of datasets which will be made available is available here: http://data.london.gov.uk/datastore/data-packages-launch. It seems that more than 200 datasets will be made available.

Chanel 4 is also offering a fund of £200,000, through the 4IP Developer’s fund, in total to two companies or individuals with an outstanding idea for a product or application that uses information available on this site.

HTML 5 – GEOLOCATION API

With the latest HTML5 editor’s draft version being published, today I will be discussing the new HTML 5 Geolocation API. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have published a Geolocation API specification that allows a web page to query the user’s location using JavaScript to access objects exposed by the browser.

Firefox 3.5 was the first mainstream implementation of this API. Combined with Firefox Google did not waste any time, and it is now possible to share you location with the rest of the world, you may wish to click on the new “Show my Location” in Google Map.

In order to identify the location of a web user, web developer had to use the Server IP address, resulting is some level of inaccuracy. The following web site (http://whatismyipaddress.com/) provides a good illustration of the level of inaccuracy resulting with this technique, as you can experience by yourself.

As per presented in the following article HTML 5 and enabled browser (e.g. Firefox 3.5) do now offer a new generation of Geolocation with the new JavaScript API which is based on wireless Geolocation; much more accurate.

Thanks to the following simple set of JavaScript, you will be able to get very detailed location from where you are browsing; enabling true location based service!

This API will only work if you authorise it, in Firefox this manifests the following way.

<script language=”Javascript”>

if (navigator.geolocation) {

navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(position) {

ZoomToLocation(position.coords.latitude, position.coords.longitude);

});

}

else {

if (document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”)) {

document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”).innerHTML = “I’m sorry but Geolocation services are not supported by your browser – use Firefox 3.5″;

document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”).style.color = “#FF0000″;

}

}

function ZoomToLocation (mylat, mylong) {

if (document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”)) {

//Implement a zoom to location

document.getElementById(“GeoAPI”).innerHTML = “mylat: ” + mylat + “ mylong: ” + mylong;

}

}

</script>

I have now integrated this solution with the ESRI JavaScript API. A fully working example is available at the following location: http://blog.geo-tag.info/Geolocation/Geolocation.htm.

UK Mapping Data Goes Free

In the UK over the last few weeks there seems to be a lot of movement toward freeing mapping data, it is all good news.

Ordnance Survey – Base Mapping

For few years a battle had been started in the UK to free mapping data, as relayed by the newspaper Guardian. It looks like that campaign has won a major victory! See the following article for further details

On November 19^th Gordon Brown had made the announcement that the government intends to make Ordnance Survey maps free for use online by any organisation – including commercial ones – at resolutions more detailed than commercial 1:25,000 Landranger maps from April next year.

“Mid-range” maps, with resolutions from 1:10,000 upwards, will be made available for re-use, under the plans announced by the prime minister, along with information on postcode areas and electoral and council boundaries.

Postcode Sectors

Today the BBC confirmed the release of postcode data.  The move will be made as part of government’s commitment to make more use of technology and the web to transform official services. It appears that data will be freed by April 2010. The datasets to be freed is related to the postcodes sectors.

BGS Onshore Geological  Mapping

The good news does not stop there! The last few days BGS (British Geological Society) has announced the release of a new WMS to access 1:50K geological data, DiGMapGB-50.

Up to four themes of polygon or area information are available:

• Bedrock Geology;
• Superficial Deposits;
• Mass Movement;
• Artificial Ground.

The WMS is available in BNG and Lat/Long (WGS84)

• WMS 1.3.0 GetMap request against bedrock in British National Grid (BNG)
• WMS 1.3.0 GetMap request against superficial in Lat/Long WGS84 (WGS84)
• WMS 1.1.1 GetMap request against artificial ground in BNG
• WMS 1.1.1 GetMap request against mass movement in WGS84

Conclusion

For those who follow my blog might have noticed a recent post I published with the integration of OpenSpace (OS Base Mapping) with the ESRI ArcGIS JavaScript, extending the TiledMapServiceLayer.

This time, I have integrated the BGS WMS; by extending the DynamicMapServiceLayer. For further detail s on how to extend this type of layer, please refer to the following sample on the ESRI community web site.

Visit the following page to see the 1:50K geological map over OpenSpace base mapping.

StreetSide is coming to Bing Map

Bing map has just released the beta version of there new mapping solution, it is based on the Silverlight client. It includes Streetside, the competitor to streetview. For the time being, it seems to only be available in the United State

The new silverlight client also includes an enhance version of the birdview images. Microsoft has also included Photosynth, click on the link for an example.

But for further details on this new release have a look at the blog from Bing.

OS OpenSpace & ArcGIS Server JavaScript Integration

Introduction

The following post presents an implementation of Open Space from Ordnance Survey with the ArcGIS Server JavaScript API.  In the tutorial, I will explain how to create a custom tile layer and extending the esri.layers.TiledMapServiceLayer. This tutorial is inspired from the following ESRI How-to: http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisserver/apis/javascript/arcgis/help/jssamples/layers_custom_tiled.html.

A full example is available at the following location, click on the image.

Background

Ordnance survey has released their Web Mapping API, Open Space for quite a while, . This provides a feed to the various OS mapping layer, including: 1:50K, 1:10K, mini-scale and street view.

Before progressing further with this tutorial, you will need to register with OS to acquire a Key: .

Although Open Space can easily be integrated with the like of Open Layer, the integration with ESRI ArcGIS Server API (JavaScript, Flex, etc) can presents some major advantages:

• Tighter integration with back-end geo-processing services
• Scalable framework with the use of DOJO, when using the JavaScript API.
• Overlay data directly from your geo-database (ArcSDE, Oracle Spatial) using ArcGIS Server.

Thanks to Fiddler (http://www.fiddler2.com/fiddler2/), a Web Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP(S) traffic between your computer and the Internet, it became very quickly visible that Open Space tiling is actually composed by a number of calls to a WMS: http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmapapi/ts?FORMAT=image%2Fpng&KEY=6694613F8B469C97E0405F0AF160360A&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fopenspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk%2Fopenspace%2Fsupport.html&SERVICE=WMS&VERSION=1.1.1&REQUEST=GetMap&STYLES=&EXCEPTIONS=application%2Fvnd.ogc.se_inimage&LAYERS=500&SRS=EPSG%3A27700&BBOX=700000,0,800000,100000&WIDTH=200&HEIGHT=200

Ordnance Survey provides a number of layers, ranging from:  2500, 500,100, 50,25,10,5, 1; which relates to the following level of mapping. A range of Ordnance Survey raster products are displayed at each zoom level:

• outline of Great Britain (zoom level 0);
• overview of Great Britain (zoom level 1-2);
• MiniScale® (zoom level 3-4);
• 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster (zoom level 5-6);
• 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster (zoom level 7-8); and
• OS Street View® (zoom level 9-10).

Ordnance survey has unfortunately made thing a bit more complex at the level of OS Street View. The tile size changes from 200*200 to 250*250.

Integration

In order to use Open Space mapping data with ArcGIS Server Tiled Map Service Layer, one must extend the esri.layers.TiledMapServiceLayer.

Firstly, one must declare the Origin of the tiles. Annoyingly, Open Space only accepts the British National Grid (EPSG 27700), and according to OS there is no plan to extend to Lat / long.  This means that the origin of the tile is different to the coordinates system.

{
“rows”: 200,
“cols”: 200,
“dpi”: 96,
“format”: “PNG32″,
“compressionQuality” : 0,
“origin”: {
“x”:0,
“y”: 1500000
},

Note that the rows and columns size will be fixed to 200 px, depsite the change of tile size at Street View level. The change of tile size will be handled by the scalling references.

After declaring coordinate system, it is now time to declare the zoom level, beraing in mind that the change of tile size.

“lods”: [{ "level": 2500, "scale": 500000, "resolution":2500 },

{ "level": 500, "scale":100000, "resolution": 500},

{ "level": 100, "scale": 20000, "resolution": 100 },

{ "level": 50, "scale": 10000, "resolution":50},

{"level": 25,"scale": 5000,"resolution": 25},

{"level": 10,"scale": 2000,"resolution": 10},

{"level": 5,"scale": 1000,"resolution":5},

{"level": 1,"scale": 250,

/* the resolution must be adjusted as OS tiles are at that level 250 *250 rather 200 *200*/

"resolution": 1.25

}]

Having declared the new “OpenSpace” tile layer, the last remaining operation is the implementation of the GettileUrl function.

getTileUrl: function(level, row, col) {

//Change the size of the. At the lowest level OS tile size differs.

if (level > 2) {

width = 200;

height = 200;}

else{

width = 250;

height = 250;

}

//Set the parameters for the OS WMS

var xmin = (map.__LOD.scale * col) + 0;

var ymin = 1500000 – map.__LOD.scale – (map.__LOD.scale * (row));

var xmax = xmin + map.__LOD.scale;

var ymax = ymin + map.__LOD.scale;

/*At level 1000 OS seems to be returning the wrong type of tile, See the folowing http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmapapi/ts?FORMAT=image%2Fpng&KEY=6694613F8B469C97E0405F0AF160360A&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fopenspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk%2Fopenspace%2Fsupport.html&SERVICE=WMS&VERSION=1.1.1&REQUEST=GetMap&STYLES=&EXCEPTIONS=application%2Fvnd.ogc.se_inimage&LAYERS=500&SRS=EPSG%3A27700&BBOX=700000,0,800000,100000&WIDTH=200&HEIGHT=200*/

if ((xmax > 700000) && (level < 2500) )

{return “”;}

var Key = “795ACB371BF9802AE0405F0AF1607DC5″;

return “http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmapapi/ts?FORMAT=image%2Fpng&KEY=”+ Key  +”&”+”VERSION=1.1.1&REQUEST=GetMap&STYLES=&EXCEPTIONS=application%2Fvnd.ogc.se_inimage&”+”LAYERS=”+ level +”&SRS=EPSG%3A27700&BBOX=”+ xmin +”,”+ ymin +”,”+ xmax +”,”+ ymax +”&WIDTH=” + width +”&HEIGHT=”+ height +”";

}

The new OpenSpace Tiel layer is now ready to be integrated with the map and any other ArcGIS Server layer.

layer1 = new OpenSpace();

map.addLayer(layer1);

layer2 = new esri.layers.ArcGISDynamicMapServiceLayer(“http://sampleserver1.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Demographics/ESRI_Population_World/MapServer”, {

opacity: 0.6

});

map.addLayer(layer2);

References

Example Source Code: http://www.geo-tag.info/OpenSpace/OpenSpaceLayer.zip

ESRI JavaScript API: http://resources.esri.com/arcgisserver/index.cfm?fa=JSAPIs

Happy Thanksgiving – But … Where is your turkey from?

As I was browsing the internet for some ideas around thanks giving and GIS, I found that interesting example of GIS technology applied to tracking the origin of food for thanksgiving : http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/558703/?sc=rsln

Bing Map – UK

MS Bing Map for the UK does now integrate the OS (Ordnance Survey) mapping, as the following screen shot demonstrates.

Depending on the location various level of mapping are available, from 1:50k down to Street View. This is particularly valid around London.

For more details, Bing Blog has provided an interesting article: http://www.bing.com/community/blogs/maps/archive/2009/11/12/released-bing-maps-uk.aspx.

Happy GIS DAY 2009

On Wednesday 18th November, it will be GIS day around the world. This is an occasion to celebrate the science of Geographic Information System (GIS). There are a number of web sites providing a lot of free resources. You may want to visit the following site as a starting point: http://www.gisday.com/.

ArcGIS Flex API – V 1.3 is out.

The new version of the ArcGIS Flex API is out. The details of the release is available at the following location:
http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisserver/apis/flex/help/index.html#whats_new.htm”>

Here is a quick summary:

• Support for Flex SDK 3.4. The older 3.0 thru 3.3 are still supported.
• More styling options for InfoContainer (used by InfoWindow and InfoSymbol).
• Well-known ID 102100 (WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere) is now a supported projection for Web
• Mercator-based overlays (including Bing Maps). It is also used in WebMercatorUtil for projecting coordinates between geographic and Web Mercator.
• Miscellaneous API improvements and bug fixes.

There is also more support for handling fetaures (polygon, polylime and multipoint); which means that with a bit of effort, it is now possible to do the same as on the following Silverlight example:http://serverapps.esri.com/SilverlightDemos/EditGeometry