MapCompare now with ESRI ArcWeb

Last week, I added the ESRI ArcWeb Explorer Javascript API to MapCompare. Unfortunately, I was unable to add it as a tab. ESRI has gone the Flash route, and that does not work with the other APIs or AJAX very well. But, I make it available in a new window for you to view. A few comments; in general, I think it's a great API. I don't know why it is not more widely known, I found out from a single tip, not even from ESRI. They gear their API more towards geographers and GIS people, for example they use ratio scales instead of "zoom levels". Their controls are very neat too. The maps lolok very different, they use a different set of scale dependencies, symbology, etc. I noticed that their geocoding results return very similar coordinate results as Google Maps....interesting. I assume they are using the same data set for geocoding.

Enjoy!

MapCompare Comments

I've been receiving a lot of comments about the MapCompare app. Here are a few:

"Very cool! Thank you for sharing it on the GISCO list!"

"This looks awesome--nice job. Thanks for putting this together and taking an objective look at those APIs. Someone needed to do this and I'm thankful and impressed that you did..."

"that's pretty cool.. looks useful for people trying to figure out what they want..."

"holy sh#t! This is awesome!"

And my personal favorite:

"Looks good to me. FYI: I also masked my e-mail address by using a bogus e-mail. Hope it works for you. Also... secondarily is a word. You can check its usage at:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/secondarily

Plus, if you do not have spell check, you can check the spelling of other words at dictionary.com Eg: the word 'purspose' in your introduction tab within the "About MapCompare".

I guess the only real question you should ask yourself is... how does your application vary from the Google Maps application at http://maps.google.com/ ???"

This last one confused me a little. They start out liking it, then seem to hate it by the end of the email. First, thanks for pointing out the multitude of spelling mistakes I made. By the way, you spelled my last name wrong, your email spoof said "scott.seigerwald@gmail.com", you missed the "t". I guess spell check won't work there though, eh? I will leave the spelling mistakes there out of spite. Also, you missed the point of this application, apparently. The application differs from Google Maps very much, I think. I am allowing you to compare three mapping resources to compare their symbology, accuracy, etc. Oh well.

Final note, if you are going to send something through my web form, it is not 100% anonymous. For example, the last chap, I was able to gather they were from a certain county in the Western part of Colorado. From there, it was kind of easy to narrow down who sent it.

Anyway, I hope everyone continues to enjoy the app!

MapCompare

Check out the new application I developed; MapCompare. This handy application allows people to compare the different mapping APIs available, including Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth and Yahoo! Maps. Users can compare map symbology, functionality and accuracy. Enjoy!

Recent events

I've been quite busy lately, but the good kind of busy. At work, I have been using a number of technologies including AJAX, ArcGIS Server, Microsoft Enterprise Library, Open Source GIS amongst other things. I've been learning a lot, which is important.

I am working on 2 ArcGIS Server projects; one for my day job and one as an independent consultant. The independent consulting job is for a major country's tourism department. It's been quite interesting.

I've also been getting involved in Open Source lately and am hoping to get much more exposure. Mostly, I have been using MapGuide Open Source, but am interested in looking at a number of other products including PHP, UMN MapServer, PostGIS, OpenLayers, OSSIM, GRASS and many others. Look for the website to change in the coming months to include Open Source information.

Finally, I am in the process of starting up my own business. This business will be my independent consulting outlet. I will include links to the website on my website.