DevSummit 2014: DevSummit.NET
There has been a lot of talk about how the Desktop is dead, but there are a lot of arguments to counter that. Here’s one: the number of sessions at this year’s DevSummit for desktop applications. This post explores DevSummit sessions focused on the .NET framework.
So far in my DevSummit blog series, we've coverd many exciting things happening with the ArcGIS platform, which makes it easy to overlook new developments with the Desktop. But we shouldn't. The Desktop remains an important plank in the ArcGIS platform. For .NET developers, there are many options available such as ArcObjects, Add-ins, Runtime, Windows Store apps, ArcGIS Engine and more. All of them will be covered at the DevSummit. Let’s dive in and take a closer look.
Since the ArcGIS 10 release, Desktop Add-ins has been the new ArcGIS custom extensions. They offer the same powerful capabilities of ArcObjects with an easier deployment model. Explore what you can do with .NET add-ins for ArcGIS for Desktop on Tuesday at 1 p.m. For the same powerful ArcObjects API outside of ArcGIS for Desktop, tips and tricks for ArcGIS Engine is up on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
Another option for building custom desktop applications is the new ArcGIS Runtime SDK for .NET. A session on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. covers building WPF applications with Runtime SDK, including the new features in the 10.2 release, recommended best practices and tips and tricks for how to optimize your application. On Thursday at 1 p.m. you can learn about migrating WPF applications to the new Windows API included in the Runtime SDK for WPF. Building offline applications using the Runtime APIs (not just .NET) is in two parts. Part 1 is on Wednesday at 4 p.m. followed by Part 2 at 5:30 p.m. Offline geocoding is on Monday at 2:15 p.m. and offline network analysis is on Monday at 2:45 p.m.
To know more about Runtime SDKs, really, everything you wanted to know about ArcGIS Runtime SDKs is on Thursday at 10 a.m. This Q&A session features a panel of Esri developers from the ArcGIS Runtime team. So, get ready with your questions.
For Windows 8 developers, understanding the new Windows Store is important. On Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., you can learn about deploying Windows Store applications including techniques, options and best practices.
The new ArcGIS Pro is scheduled to be released this year and there are a number of sessions in the DevSummit about it. As a .NET developer, you can get ready to customize ArcGIS Pro and extend it on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
On the server side, learn about extending services in ArcGIS Server on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. This session will cover building SOEs and geoprocessing services including how to develop, debug and deploy solutions. ArcGIS Server Administration API for C# developers is on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. With the REST API, you can easily publish and manage services, secure them, mine the logs, programmatically register your server object extensions and much more.
So, as you can see, the Desktop is alive and well and .NET developers, like everyone else, have a lot of ground to cover at DevSummit. As of this post, there's less than three days to go. I'm lucky enough to get a jump on things and will be heading down early. Look out for my final post in this series coming soon.