Creating an ArcGIS web application (.Net tech)

For Whom: Who have little knowledge of ArcGIS and familiar with C# and ASP.net technologies.

I will elaborate the topics in following flow:

Software Needed & Installation Requirements.
Configurations.
Prerequisites.
ArcGIS template based application.
Raw customized .Net application.
Other technology options & tools available in market.

Well, lots of topics lets start eating with the not so hot but the tasty part of the pasta i.e. "Software Needed".

Software Needed & Installation Requirements:

Version depends on your choice. I am using ArcGIS 9.3 here:
ArcGIS 9.2 supports programming in MS Visual Studio 2005.
ArcGIS 9.3 supports programming in MS Visual Studio 2008.
ArcGIS 10 supports programming in MS Visual Studio 2010.

So you need:

• ArcGIS Server 9.x or above.
• ArcGIS Server Web ADF Runtime for the .NET Framework (no separate downloads. It comes with ArcGIS server licensed version only).
• Microsoft .Net framework 2.0 or above.
• Microsoft Windows Server 2000/2003/2008/2010 or above.
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional (SP1 or above) or later.
• Browsers e.g. Chrome, IE, Firefox etc.
• Microsoft IIS 5.0 and above
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005/ 2008/ 2010 or above. (I had used 2008).
• AJAX Control Toolkit.

Note: All ArcGIS installations need uninstallations of any previous versions ArcGIS softwares. The installation takes 1500 MB disk space and 176 MB of system drive space. I had taken the installation of ArcGIS Server (not WebADF) on a different machine having MS Windows Server 2000 installed. Rest installations are on my machine (MS Windows XP SP3).

For more information about requirements refer to link:

http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisserver/install_gds/dotnet/Step_1__Verify_sys_reqs.htm

http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisserver/install_gds/dotnet/Installing_ADF.htm

Configurations:

I had left the server configuration for the sake of focus to web application development only. But broadly, you need to have SOC (Server Object Container) and SOM (Server Object Manager) user accounts configured at Server.

After WebADF installation the Visual Studio will show the "Web Mapping Application" a.k.a. WMA template in its "New Website" box.

Also, check out for the toolbar which show you the ArcGIS Web Controls (if not then add it in Visual Studio).

Prerequisites:

If you want to use your own data, you should have a folder consisting of layer data in .mxd format. Take a note that this folder will be on the server machine and it need to be a shared folder. If you have data in other formats like .tab etc. Use ArcMap or other tools for making an ArcGIS project and then having conversion of data to .mxd format with you. For e.g. have a look at the image below which shows you sample data consisting of .mxd project files.

Data Layers for Map

You need to make a map service by using this data through the ArcGIS Server Manager.

ArcGIS template based application:

Start MS Visual Studio. Go to File >New Website and select the "Web Mapping Application" template.

It may show you ready to run customized template with common tools and toolbars configured for you. It may show a dialog box like:

Click "NO" on this dialog box as we would be running the application on .Net framework 2.0 only here. However if you need to switch to higher versions of framework act accordingly. The solution explorer will look like:

Right click on "Default.aspx" and set it as start page. The design view of "Default.aspx" would be like as below:

Default.aspx design view.

It displays control like TOC (Table of Contents which actually display open layers and checkbox to switch them on/off), Map window which will display the map configured, basic function toolbar for the purpose of zoom in/out, pan, scale, overview map, info etc. I think they pretty much solve the requirements of most of the web gis applications.

Also, the most important control (manager) is there viz. MapResource Manager. Without configuring it, you may end up in errors like "The Map Resource Manager does not have a valid Resource Item". Obviously, we need to define what map we wanna show in the window.

So as to configure the "Map Resource Manager", hover on it you may look the smart menu arrow. Click on "Edit Resources" from the menu shown as below:

Click on "Add" button. Configure the "Definition" field by clicking on the ellipsis in that field. You may end up in a dialog box like:

So, now you have a choice menu for selecting the map service type. If you have your own service running on server (service creation in my different post kindly refer to it) then select "ArcGIS Server Internet" from the drop-down menu and in the "Data Source" field enter the url for the service. In case you wanna use sample server provided by ArcGIS then also select "ArcGIS Server Internet" and in the "Data Source" field enter this url: 

"http://services.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/services".

Now on clicking the ellipsis button of "Resource", it may show you a dialog box of the services provided by the server as below:

Select the service you want and click on "OK" to close the dialog box.

Click further "OK"s to close the "Map Resource Definition Editor" dialog box and the "Map Resource Collection Editor" dialog box respectively.

Run the application and yeeeaaahhhhh you had got your web GIS app ready.

Browse through the tools and customization to make your required formats.

Yes there is one more way of making the customized application and generating the code automatically. It is through the server portal itself. Collect all the files generated and start coding on it.

Raw customized .Net application:

Starting with selecting the File >New Website. But now choosing a normal "ASP.Net website" or "Empty Website" as the case may be. 

From the "ArcGIS Web Controls" in the toolbox, add the "Map" and "Map Resource Manager" controls to your aspx page as shown below:

In the properties of "Map" control look for "Map Resource Manager" property and set it to the manager(which you had already added) selecting it from the drop-down.

Now, checking for the "Map Resource Manager" control, we do the same configuration setting as discussed above. Set the Type, Data Source and Resource for the control.

Run the application and hurray the map application is ready. Well, I know this is just the map implementation without any toolbar and any other formatting or tools. But I suppose you may go with that in a more detailed chapter possible in some other post of mine or on adding controls discussed on ArcGIS portals.

Other technology options & tools available in market:

ArcGIS provides other technology options too for the development purposes. It through Java and Flex. You may develop applications using Web ADF for Java too. Also, it provides you API's for JavaScript, Flex and Silverlight.

Use following link to reach there:

http://resources.arcgis.com/content/arcgisserver/web-apis

Download and take help of various sample websites for their implementations.

Other tools available in market for GIS development; truly said are many including:

• SuperGeo
• MapInfo
• Microstation etc.

But my referral and priority goes to ArcGIS for its superb support, customized interface, usability and dependable architecture.

Wait for more post of mine on ArcGIS development (like creating Map Service etc.) soon.

Till then Enjoy development!!

Call Back Mechanism

All Run Commands In Windows XP

You can access all these programs by going through START/RUN.
SQL Client Configuration - cliconfg

System Configuration Editor - sysedit

System Configuration Utility - msconfig

System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately)- sfc /scannow

System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot)- sfc /scanonce

System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) - sfc /scanboot

System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting)- sfc /revert

System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache)- sfc /purgecache

System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x)-sfc/cachesize=x

System Information - msinfo32

Task Manager - taskmgr

System Properties - sysdm.cpl

TCP Tester - tcptest

Telnet Client - telnet

Tweak UI (if installed) - tweakui

User Account Management- nusrmgr.cpl

Utility Manager - utilman

Windows Address Book - wab

Windows Address Book Import Utility - wabmig

Windows Backup Utility (if installed)- ntbackup

Windows Explorer - explorer

Windows Firewall- firewall.cpl

Windows Magnifier- magnify

Windows Management Infrastructure - wmimgmt.msc

Windows Media Player - wmplayer

Windows Messenger - msmsgs

Windows Picture Import Wizard (need camera connected)- wiaacmgr

Windows System Security Tool - syskey

Windows Update Launches - wupdmgr

Windows Version (to show which version of windows)- winver

Windows XP Tour Wizard - tourstart

Wordpad - write

Password Properties - password.cpl

Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc

Phone and Modem Options - telephon.cpl

Phone Dialer - dialer

Pinball Game - pinball

Power Configuration - powercfg.cpl

Printers and Faxes - control printers

Printers Folder - printers

Private Character Editor - eudcedit

Quicktime (If Installed)- QuickTime.cpl

Real Player (if installed)- realplay

Regional Settings - intl.cpl

Registry Editor - regedit

Registry Editor - regedit32

Remote Access Phonebook - rasphone

Remote Desktop - mstsc

Removable Storage - ntmsmgr.msc

Removable Storage Operator Requests - ntmsoprq.msc

Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof) - rsop.msc

Scanners and Cameras - sticpl.cpl

Scheduled Tasks - control schedtasks

Security Center - wscui.cpl

Services - services.msc

Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc

Shuts Down Windows - shutdown

Sounds and Audio - mmsys.cpl

Spider Solitare Card Game - spider

Malicious Software Removal Tool - mrt

Microsoft Access (if installed) - access.cpl

Microsoft Chat - winchat

Microsoft Excel (if installed) - excel

Microsoft Frontpage (if installed)- frontpg

Microsoft Movie Maker - moviemk

Microsoft Paint - mspaint

Microsoft Powerpoint (if installed)- powerpnt

Microsoft Word (if installed)- winword

Microsoft Syncronization Tool - mobsync

Minesweeper Game - winmine

Mouse Properties - control mouse

Mouse Properties - main.cpl

Nero (if installed)- nero

Netmeeting - conf

Network Connections - control netconnections

Network Connections - ncpa.cpl

Network Setup Wizard - netsetup.cpl

Notepad - notepad

Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed)- nvtuicpl.cpl

Object Packager - packager

ODBC Data Source Administrator- odbccp32.cpl

On Screen Keyboard - osk

Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed) - ac3filter.cpl

Outlook Express - msimn

Paint - pbrush

Keyboard Properties - control keyboard

IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) - ipconfi/all

IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents)- ipconfig /displaydns

IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents)- ipconfig /flushdns

IP Configuration (Release All Connections)- ipconfig /release

IP Configuration (Renew All Connections)- ipconfig /renew

IP Configuration(RefreshesDHCP&Re-RegistersDNS)-ipconfig/registerdns

IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID)- ipconfig/showclassid

IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID)- ipconfig /setclassid

Java Control Panel (If Installed)- jpicpl32.cpl

Java Control Panel (If Installed)- javaws

Local Security Settings - secpol.msc

Local Users and Groups - lusrmgr.msc

Logs You Out Of Windows - logoff.....

Accessibility Controls - access.cpl

Accessibility Wizard - accwiz

Add Hardware - Wizardhdwwiz.cpl

Add/Remove Programs - appwiz.cpl

Administrative Tools control - admintools

Adobe Acrobat (if installed) - acrobat

Adobe Designer (if installed)- acrodesg

Adobe Distiller (if installed)- acrodist

Adobe ImageReady (if installed)- imageready

Adobe Photoshop (if installed)- photoshop

Automatic Updates - wuaucpl.cpl

Bluetooth Transfer Wizard - fsquirt

Calculator - calc

Certificate Manager - certmgr.msc

Character Map - charmap

Check Disk Utility - chkdsk

Clipboard Viewer - clipbrd

Command Prompt - cmd

Component Services - dcomcnfg

Computer Management - compmgmt.msc

Control Panel - control

Date and Time Properties - timedate.cpl

DDE Shares - ddeshare

Device Manager - devmgmt.msc

Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)- directx.cpl

Direct X Troubleshooter- dxdiag

Disk Cleanup Utility- cleanmgr

Disk Defragment- dfrg.msc

Disk Management- diskmgmt.msc

Disk Partition Manager- diskpart

Display Properties- control desktop

Display Properties- desk.cpl

Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected)- control color

Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility- drwtsn32

Driver Verifier Utility- verifier

Event Viewer- eventvwr.msc

Files and Settings Transfer Tool- migwiz

File Signature Verification Tool- sigverif

Findfast- findfast.cpl

Firefox (if installed)- firefox

Folders Properties- control folders

Fonts- control fonts

Fonts Folder- fonts

Free Cell Card Game- freecell

Game Controllers- joy.cpl

Group Policy Editor (XP Prof)- gpedit.msc

Hearts Card Game- mshearts

Help and Support- helpctr

HyperTerminal- hypertrm

Iexpress Wizard- iexpress

Indexing Service- ciadv.msc

Internet Connection Wizard- icwconn1

Internet Explorer- iexplore

Internet Setup Wizard- inetwiz

Internet Properties- inetcpl.cpl

New social networking initiative

Dear Folks,
Let's welcome Google+. Totally vibrant and innovative approach from Google as always.
It's a platform for new dimension in social networking. No confrontations. Just easy to have five houses of human networking i.e. Cirlces, Hangouts, Instant upload, Sparks, Huddle.

Where circle gives you group (enCircle) your contacts like in real life, Hangouts gives you live f2f discussions and chattery. Instant upload gives you at the instant uploading of photos from your mobile as you take them and store them on your private album on Google. You may specify your sharing criterion. Sparks gives your instant status, your thoughts, whereabouts, likes etc. Huddle gives you the functionality of group chat. You may decide to bunk the lecture in a group :).

To explore more go to http://plus.google.com/ and login through your google account.

Hope to hear from you all soon.
Astalavista,
Abhy

Coordinate Transformer

Well folks,

This is from my personal development archives. I developed this software by feeling the need of batch coordinate conversions ( from Degree Decimal to Degree Minute Seconds and vice versa) and also viewing the latlong whether from excel file or an individual one on google earth directly...If you feel interest then email me on invincibleabhijat@yahoo.co.in ...I would be soon uploading it on my personal website.

Thanks

Hope to hear some more ideas from you all.

Microsoft 32 bit Windows Version History

I was looking through the release dates of Microsoft's 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems little earlier. Following are the details:

Product Name / Version No. / Release Date
Win NT 3.1 // 3.1 // July 1993
Win NT 3.5 // 3.5 // September 1994
Win NT 3.51 // 3.51 // May 1995
Win NT 4.0 // 4.0 // July 1996
Win 2000 // 5.0 // December 1999
Win XP // 5.1 // August 2001
Win Server 2003 // 5.2 // March 2003
Win Vista // 6.0 (Build 6000) // January 2007
Win Server 2008 // 6.0 (Build 6001) // March 2008
Windows 7 // 6.1(7600) // October 2009

IBM blasts off with ThinkPads in space

When the space shuttle Endeavour blasts off tomorrow, astronauts aboard will be equipped with IBM ThinkPad notebooks for the 11-day mission.

This isn?t the first time that the portable computers have been put to work in space. In 1993, NASA astronauts used an IBM portable during a mission to repair the crippled Hubble telescope. But their increased use in space missions and on international space stations demonstrates the versatility of portables in space.

For its part, IBM is trying to get as much public relations value out of the mission as possible, especially as the company plans to introduce a series of new products next month.

IBM has been touting what it calls the ?edge? of the network, or EON, as a guiding principal behind all its future PC products. Big Blue in February plans to rebrand its PC line and introduce simpler models, including one built around a LCD display.

Taking a page from science fiction, IBM plans to show off prototypes of a new portable, a wearable PC based on the ThinkPad 560. The U.S. Army is currently testing the wearable PC, and NASA reportedly has expressed some interest in using the technology.

Portables on space missions make a lot of sense, International Data Corp. analyst Roger Kay said. By relying on portable notebooks instead of installed PCs, NASA can spread its computing power and apply technology to specific tasks.

"I wouldn?t mind having my ThinkPad floating there next to me ready for whenever I want to use it," Kay quipped.

The shuttle?s notebooks don?t exactly float freely, but are held down by Velcro strips so astronauts aren?t injured by a flying PC. Keeping in mind that shuttle astronauts work in zero gravity, it is not unusual for portables to be attached to the shuttle?s wall or ceilings.

Three varieties of ThinkPads will be used on the mission. The crew will rely on several ThinkPad 760XDs as a general-purpose Payload and General Support Computers, "or PGSC, a good NASA acronym," said Andy Klausman, a staff engineer with Houston-based United Space Alliance, a contractor for the space shuttle.

Those units will primarily be used for email, sending files back and forth between the orbiter and the ground, displaying a world map with the shuttle?s current location, and tracking where gear is stowed.

A ThinkPad 755C will collect data from a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver during the shuttle?s ascent into space and re-entry. NASA eventually plans to incorporate GPS features into the shuttle?s navigational system.

Endeavour?s main mission will be one of radar topography, for which it will in part rely on ThinkPad 760Es. Two separate antennas separated will collect radar images to formulate three-dimensional maps of the earth.

One of the frequent problems for the portables is the effect of space travel. While the notebooks generally survive the ride into orbit, other things can potentially go wrong.

"The notebooks are not designed for space flight, so we have to be aware of the impact the environment can do, such as radiation hitting the memory and changing it," Klausman said. "That happens every flight."

So far radiation has not seriously compromised data collected on missions, but the potential for problems is one reason why NASA doesn?t use the IBM portables for critical operations.

NASA also locks down the power supplies, so the crew doesn?t accidentally kick them loose while they are floating around the shuttle space.

The notebooks are attached to a local-area network on the shuttle and connect remotely to a NASA computer for data transfer, sending email and transmitting other information. NASA eventually plans to use wireless networking. All the notebooks run Windows 95 with tentative plans to switch to Windows NT.

Some of the ThinkPads are equipped with videoconferencing equipment, which is used by medical personnel as well as families on the ground to talk with astronauts in space.

The International Space Station, which is partially constructed and tentatively scheduled to become operational later this year, also carries IBM ThinkPads. U.S. and European astronauts also left at least three ThinkPad 750Cs on the now defunct Russian space station Mir.

The space shuttle was originally scheduled to launch today, but was postponed due to computer problems and poor weather conditions in Florida, according to CNN.

By Joe Wilcox
Staff Writer, CNET News

LIMIT OF COMPUTERIZATION w.r.t. Security Breaches

What to you think about the limit up to which computerization take place?

Reason:
If every thing like power supply; your daily work starting from
bathing, brushing your teeth to sleeping; id cards; studies;
transportation; biological activities; financial information; top
secrets; emergency help services etc. then in view of the scene of
internet security breaches it may prove fatal.

You may take the practical demonstration in the movie Die Hard 4.0...

Give your comments.