A one-page chart comparing several ESRI software solutions.
Download now (17KB)
|
Featured in Software
ArcWhat: Which ESRI GIS tool(s) should you use?
Remember when ArcView was the choice for use in your educational setting: A single desktop tool. Obviously, those days are gone. With advances in computing power, the growth of the Internet and server capacities, the creation of Web-desktop hybrids, the need for multi-OS applications, and the call for educationally-structured tools, the ESRI GIS playing field has expanded and it can be confusing. Depending upon your situation, OS needs, hardware availability, Internet access, mapping and analysis tasks you wish to accomplish, and other variables, you may only need a simple online mapping site like the
National Geographic MapMachine or you may need professional grade ArcGIS 9.2 and various extensions.
One way to begin thinking about all of the ESRI-based possibilities is to see them as part of a range of options, or a GIS tool continuum. The graphic below gives one view of this sliced along a dimension of functional capability of Web services and desktop applications.
Limited Capacity
If you
just need to locate Alice Springs,
Australia on a
map and don't want to install any software, ArcWeb Explorer (Win/Mac)
is an excellent choice. However, like all other Internet browser geotools, you
are limited by what (functions and data) the service authors have provided. ArcGIS Explorer (AGX) also
requires access to the Internet as well as installation of a desktop
application (Win), as do Google Earth and NASA World Wind. It comes with a
number of tasks (functions) it can perform and Web data services it can use: ArcGIS
Online. However, through the AGX Resource Center, ESRI and
its users will be providing pathways to new data and tasks.
Tailored
The call
for tailored ESRI education applications first sounded in the mid-1990s leading
to a customized version of ArcView 3 called ArcVoyager. While its usefulness
has ceased, it has provided development pathways which are manifested in ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education (AEJEE)
and Digital Worlds GIS 2 (DW2).
Both of these applications have custom interfaces, provide much but not
unlimited functionality, and are hybrids in that they can be used solely as
desktop applications (tapping lots of different data sets from local drives) but
can also access Web services. AEJEE is a Win/Mac software and DW2, built with
ArcGIS building blocks by an ESRI UK partner, is Windows only. Because of its
design, the latter might also be labeled "ArcView Jr" and can be a stepping
stone to "professional grade" ESRI software. (NOTE: DW2 just launched this
summer with key focus in the UK,
but it will be finding its way elsewhere in the world. Stay tuned for more.)
Professional Grade
ArcGIS
desktop tools (Win), such as ArcView
9.2, are designed with ESRI's
primary users in mind: People who need to tackle data creation, perform
spatial analysis, and build models among other things. However, these same tasks
with the same tools are just as likely to be accomplished by students and
educators of varying levels. Specialized ArcGIS
extensions can be added to the core desktop tools as new tasks need to be
done. Like other professional grade tools, e.g., Microsoft Office, youth and
adult users may likely not be using all the capacity included but rather
utilizing what they need when they need it.
So, which
ESRI tool is the right one for you? The short answer continues to be: It
depends...on the kinds of items identified in the opening paragraph. And while
that answer may still make you scratch your head, know that we will be working
to help you clarify your GIS tool options. Best place to watch for more is,
here, in EdCommunity, especially under the Software tab.
| 
