Previous: The painful bits
5:Take-away
ArcGIS Explorer Online is a quick way to mashup services and work with display. Functionality is limited (queries, yes; geoprocessing, no). But the main reason not to use it for my finished application is that CobSiter is aimed at a user group that isn't primarily mappers. There are aspects of Explorer that just aren't intuitive (see Adding Features in the video). Even the interface isn't immediately clear--where are the usual navigation controls? (Elegantly, discreetly, down in the lower left. You'll find them. Eventually.) What's "Layers"? Why don't I see the same stuff in the Legend? What exactly is a "query" and how the heck do I create one? and so on.
But the most significant strike against it is you have to pay to play: ArcGIS Online is a subscription community. I'd like to offer something useable and free to the natural building community. The next version will be open source and custom-built.
5:Take-away
ArcGIS Explorer Online is a quick way to mashup services and work with display. Functionality is limited (queries, yes; geoprocessing, no). But the main reason not to use it for my finished application is that CobSiter is aimed at a user group that isn't primarily mappers. There are aspects of Explorer that just aren't intuitive (see Adding Features in the video). Even the interface isn't immediately clear--where are the usual navigation controls? (Elegantly, discreetly, down in the lower left. You'll find them. Eventually.) What's "Layers"? Why don't I see the same stuff in the Legend? What exactly is a "query" and how the heck do I create one? and so on.
But the most significant strike against it is you have to pay to play: ArcGIS Online is a subscription community. I'd like to offer something useable and free to the natural building community. The next version will be open source and custom-built.