Abstract

Paper
ArcGIS Architectures and Programming Languages: Current Issues
Track: System Implementation for GIS
Authors: Frank Hardisty, Anthony Robinson

This presentation offers an analysis of currently popular GIS architectures, and the programming languages that support them, along with some possibilities as to future directions, with an emphasis on ArcGIS. The analysis is focused around two decision-making scenarios, an architectural decision and a programming language decision. The first decision is a choice between creating a new mapping service using either REST or web services. REST has the advantage of potentially greater scalability, and better adherence to the ethos of the Internet, while web services can be simpler to program with, particularly in a controlled computing ecosystem. The second decision is a choice of what the next programming language you learn should be. Logical alternatives in the context of GIS programming include a language in the .NET family (such as C#) and Python.

Frank Hardisty
Penn State
2217 EES Bld
UP, Pennsylvania 16802
United States
Phone: 814-867-1471
E-mail: hardisty@psu.edu

Anthony Robinson
Penn State Univeristy
2217 EES Bld.
UP, Pennsylvania 16801
United States
Phone: 814-867-1471
E-mail: hardisty@psu.edu