Esri announced today that it is providing a free developer subscription for its web, mobile, and online tools and services. This new plan includes access to powerful geoservices as well as the ability to host your own data in the Esri cloud as RESTful web services that can be consumed by a wide variety of client-side apps and APIs.
Developers can start a subscription and continue at the free level, or they can upgrade to a selection of paid levels that provide more storage and services, as well as the ability to deploy commercial applications with no extra fees or royalties. These new plans offer flexible and cost-effective ways to build apps that bring the power of location to the GIS user community and the consumer audience on a variety of devices.
“We have been listening to the market and see that developers are looking for a robust set of location tools that are easier to use and simply work well,” said Johan Herrlin, senior business strategist, Esri “The free level of the ArcGIS Online developer plan is our invitation to the community of developers who are creating truly amazing things to come build, test, and push the boundaries of geoenabling their applications. We are looking forward to seeing what will be built and deployed when we launch additional geoenrichment tools this fall.”
This new developer subscription to ArcGIS Online includes new features that improve the ability to quickly and easily deploy and manage your apps and services. These features include improved documentation, better samples, and usage monitoring tools. Developers can also create and edit new feature services through a web interface.
The platform includes the following features:
APIs and SDKs – Build apps using a wide variety of the most popular web and mobile development technologies such as JavaScript, iOS, Android, Flex, Silverlight, Windows Phone, and Windows Mobile, as well as REST APIs. All are well-documented with plenty of samples to quickly get started.
Addresses – Use the geocoding service to convert addresses to and from geographic coordinates. Search for places within a region and get locations that match your search.
Directions and Routing – Get routes and directions between locations using tools for JavaScript, Android, and iOS. Find the optimal route between multiple locations and simulate traffic conditions. In addition to directions, developers can use Esri’s routing features to perform tasks like finding out how far you can drive from a place in a given amount of time or route multiple vehicles to several locations.
Store and Query Geographic Data in Feature Services – Use storage space in Esri’s cloud and create RESTful web services for data you want to see and analyze on a map. Create custom REST endpoints to store and query geographic data such as points, lines, and polygons.
Mapping and Visualization Tools – Create maps for any mobile platform and turn spreadsheets and data into map features. Display markers, icons, and pop-ups to customize maps, or choose from special maps styled for different uses.
Developers who are interested in getting started today can subscribe to a developer plan of ArcGIS Online at developers.arcgis.com. Check out Esri on Github and contribute to more than 100 repositories of apps, templates, utilities, and developer quick starters.
For more information, visit developers.arcgis.com.
About Esri
Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.
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