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Highlights of the 2015 Esri Developer Summit

Published Date
Author Krista Amolins

For the past decade, Esri has held a Developer Summit in March in Palm Springs, California. At the 10th Annual Dev Summit that ran between March 10-13, Esri staff talked about the ArcGIS Platform, user identity and all of the changes and new capabilities for the ArcGIS APIs and Runtime SDKs.

Last week (March 10-13), geo-geeks descended on Palm Springs, California for the 10thEsri Developer Summit. With over 300 technical sessions, user presentations and demo theatres for beginners, advanced on topics ranging from ArcGIS Online to ArcGIS SDKs and APIs, Python and R to JavaScript, 3D GIS to real-time data, and much more, there was something for every developer.

There was even something for non-developers (or developers who want to build cross-platform native apps): the announcement of AppStudio for ArcGIS. Using this tool, anyone can create an app using a template and make it ready to distribute on iOS, OSX, Android, Windows and/or Linux devices. No coding required (but it is optional). It is currently in beta with a June/July target date for full release.

Elvin Slavik and Ismael Chivite show an example of a device that is not (yet) supported in AppStudio for ArcGIS. Watch the plenary video to see which devices are supported. Photo courtesy of Esri.

During the plenary session, Sud Menon, Director of Software Development at Esri, talked about the ArcGIS Platform, which includes Desktop, Server, Online and other aspects of ArcGIS. One of the key messages was the concept of identity and how it is becoming increasingly important in the ArcGIS Platform, particularly for storing and sharing maps and data and accessing premium services.

Another key message from the plenary, and throughout the Dev Summit, is that change is coming in 2015. Major updates are expected before the end of the year for both the Web APIs and the Runtime SDKs that will bring 3D, among other new capabilities, to Web and native apps. Watch the 2015 Esri Developer Summit Plenary videos to find out what has already been released and what is still to come. Also, look out for videos from all of the technical sessions in the Event Proceedings.

Satellite Map demonstrating the 3D capabilities that will be part of the ArcGIS API for JavaScript

Satellite Map: Explore some of the 3D capabilities that will be added to the ArcGIS API for JavaScript in 2015.

For those eager to start developing, the Esri Data Viz App Challenge officially started March 11. The challenge is simply to create a visually stunning app using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript that has the potential to increase understanding of the data that you choose. The competition closes April 27, 2015.

About the Author

Krista Amolins is a Higher Education Specialist with Esri Canada. Her career in GIS started when she came across the Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering program at the University of New Brunswick and thought it sounded interesting. She earned a PhD in Geomatics Engineering, focusing on lidar data classification, and now she supports teaching and learning with ArcGIS at colleges and universities across Canada. Krista particularly enjoys interacting with the students who receive an Esri Canada GIS Scholarship or apply for the Esri Young Scholars Award each year. She also enjoys playing with apps and doing a bit of coding when she has time.

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