I was wondering if there were any plans to implement and ArcSDE connector similar to the other connectors? The question has been floated around and it seems to be a decision maker.
Thanks.
ArcSDE Geodatabases
Nelson,
It’s on our list but will not be out in the upcoming release. It might be ready in the first quarter this year.
Thanks,
Ben
Nelson,
I can give you a little more information. Currently we are in the process of purchasing the developers kit from E SRI to do the integration. There is a little bit of a wrinkle as it’s hard for us to know what exactly to buy. The rep we are working with insists we need some other products to go with it and they are relatively expensive and have interesting licensing requirements. I think we can get by with with regular developers kit but time will tell. We want to have the integration done by the end of March however this is not solid at this point until we get the tools in house. Hang in there with us on this one it is really important to us and we are putting resources into getting it done.
David
I actually currently subscribe into the EDN and yes, there are multiple tiers… I am not sure which level includes ArcEngine or ArcObjects (the name escapes me) but we currently subscribe into ArcEdit which I beleive is the 2nd of 3 tiers. I do beleive we have access to the ArcObjects components as a result, if thats’s the direction you were going with this.
I know you can’t really make any form of promise or anything of that nature, but do you think one relatively could safely say that within 2009 do you think their might be a release?
Thanks again, guys.
Nelson,
That is safe to say. Now that we have the 3.0 Map Suite framework we are in a good position to put it in and removed our last excuses. :-) At this point we just need to navigate through the tiers and get the development kit bought. There has been allot of request for this over the years and we are committed to doing it. As a last ditch we can implement the layer through OGR which has support for it. We rather write it ourself to get some in house experience with it and have our own code that is easier to support if people run into problems. Quick question what is the back end of the geo-databsase you use? Is it Oracle, SQL Server or an Access DB?
David
For ArcSDE, so far we have only used SQL Server Express 2005. It seems to work correctly and in fact if you are not using an Enterprise level of ArcGIS, I believe the express edition is the only option. That’s probably not true, I’ve lost track! We don’t use it very much in-house other than development purposes, but we have a couple of prospective clients who seem to have large GIS departments that utilize this so there is no possiblity of migrating away from it. The ability to save money by using the Express version is nice too, haha.
Unfortunately, it seems ArcSDE geodatabase capability has become a decision-maker for our company. Is there a way I can become notified when this capability does become available. I do enjoy working with the Map Suite component very much, but as it stands some of our clients are uninterested in exporting shapes for purposes of geodatabase web mapping.
When this ability does become available though, we likely have a long line of customers waiting so it would be wonderful to steer them away from ESRI if a suitable opponent exists.
Nelson,
Do not fret, I got word that the DVD is on its way. I think if the interface they provide is nice we may be able to finish it early next month. Any help or guidance you could offer on the features you use or even how to use it would be great. If we could use you as a test site that would be helpful as well. This way you know it works with your stuff and it can help us meet your deadline more quickly.
David
Absolutely. We know our clients definitely make use of versioning with their feature sets, but I think for web mapping purposes, only the most relevent and latest features need to be dealt with. They do also utilize annotation layers, which is a nice feature in of itself.
ArcGIS Server typically has you create a map file in ArcMap which you then visually style your layers and what not and this file also tells ArcGIS Server how to display the web map too. In your map file, you link up to the geodatabase or geodatabases of your choice and lay them out accordingly. It took me a little while to figure that part out so hopefully you can benefit a little by knowing that peice of start up info.
Edit: This is the caveat as to why the "ArcEditor" version of the EDN is necessary; ArcView, the first tier, only allows for viewing map files and such, not for creating or editting them. I beleive this also applies to trying to import shape data into feature classes on the SDE Backend. So ArcEditor, as the name implies, allows you to do so. It took me a good amount of time to even get to that conclusion. If you have any questions on initial set up, feel free to contact me at nsoto@plotplans.com and I'll do my best to try to help you get running.
As far as working with MapSuite goes, none of the above mentioned information about Map Files is necessary at all. The ability to read from the tables the feature data and display it and it's appropriate attribute data is sufficient for us. As long as we can treat it as any other source you currently support, that would be terrific.
And of course, we are willing to test out!
Hi,
I’m in the same boat as Nelson. We’ve got all of our enterprise GIS data in ArcSDE and we need to display it with Map Suite. At the moment we export shapefiles, but it would be dramatically better if we could connect to ArcSDE directly, even if that is a read only connection.
I just wanted to add my voice in appreciation and anticipation for this particular feature.
Thanks.
I can't speak for ThinkGeo, but an approach I am trying to take to tackle this is exposure via WFS services. ArcGIS Server includes this capability. ThinkGeo has expressed interest in the approach as well. I think if this interface materializes it will bridge the gap until an independant ArcSDE connector is created.
Nelson/ Stephen
Still waiting on the DVDs from Esr i. All we get is the run around form fulfillment. I don’t know if they are really incompetent or they just don’t want us to have them. Maybe both??
David
Nelson,
If you can bridge the gap before we do I will send you something nice!! Of course if it is in line with the corporate guidelines. :-)
David
David,
Is there a private manner in which I can speak with you in regards to all of this? My employer is interested in the progress that has been made with the WFS access of the SDE and recommends a dialog about it but the forum is perhaps not the best place.
Nelson,
We can arrange that. What timezone are you in? Can you e-mail support@thinkgeo.com and have them forward your contact details to David?
David
I am in EST time, in Boston, MA area. I have sent my information to the above e-mail and requested they be forwarded your way.
Nelson,
Got it and sent you an e-mail.
David
Nelson,
Did you get my e-mail. I just have a small window today. For the next 30-40 mintues from now.
David
I am trying to find out how (or if) I can connect to an ArcSDE Geodatabase using MapSuite 3.0 (only need readonly access). I found this thread which is exactly what I am asking but I can see no resolution as the thread went offline.
Can someone please point me in the right direction? Can I use OGR through the FDO Extension, or am I better off going down the WFS route?
Any guidance appreciated. I am new to Map Suite and currently evaluating it.
Thank you, Trev
Trevor,
Currently we have been going the route of FDO as it has a provider for ArcSde. We have had a number of issues with the Sde provider and memory issue and as it is all C++ we had to work with an outside company. The short of it is it is talking forever to get the changes finished and it seems we are always two weeks out from our external source. There is a new version of the connector that is RC now from FDO and we are going to look at that as well and hope it works better.
I would go down the WFS route as we know that works. It is not as fast as the Sde would be but it is there and we have people using it. I would suggest that you centralize where you setup that layer so you could potentially switch it out when the Sde support is finally done. I will try and keep this thread up to date as we have more information.
If there is anything we can do to help with your evaluation let me know.
David