ArcWeb Services

ArcWeb Services is a GIS product offered by ESRI to provide Web-oriented spatial data services. ArcWeb Services is a Hosted GIS that provides geographic web services (W3C/SOAP and others) to web browsers and other Internet-enabled technology.

ArcWeb Services addresses the needs of organizations that wish to use geographic data and GIS functionality on a services basis, that is, without necessarily creating an extensive in-house GIS infrastructure. ArcWeb Services is composed of APIs, geographic services accessed through the APIs, and hosted data.

APIs

include
* JavaScript
* REST
* SOAP
* OpenLS
* Java 2 Micro Edition (Mobile Toolkit)

Geographic Services

include
* Address Finder - provide an address, get a geographic location
* Map Image - provide a geographic window, get a map
* Report - provide a location, get a printed report of data at the location (e.g., demographic)
* Route Finder - provide start and end locations, get a route between them
* Place Finder - provide a place name, get a location
* Wireless Location - query a device, get its location

Hosted Data

include
* Business Information
* Demographics
* Geographic Boundaries & Landmarks
* Imagery
* Physical Environment
* Transportation
* Weather

ArcWeb Services is typically used by organizations that want to use hosted GIS data. ArcGIS Server, another ESRI product, is typically used by organizations that want to distribute their own GIS data.

External links

* [http://www.esri.com/software/arcwebservices/index.html ESRI webpage]
* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/ National Geographic Map Machine]