ArcGIS
Parcel editing with ArcMap 10.1 on Windows 7
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| Developer(s) | Esri |
|---|---|
| Initial release | December 27, 1999 |
| Stable release |
10.5 / December 15, 2016
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| Development status | Active |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Desktop: Windows 7 SP1 and later, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and later;Server (x64 only) additionally supports: Windows Server 2003 SP2 and later; RHEL 5 Update 7 and later, SLES 11 SP1 and later; |
| Type | Geographic information system |
| License | Proprietary commercial software |
| Website | http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis |
ArcGIS is a geographic information system (GIS) for working with maps and geographic information. It is used for: creating and using maps; compiling geographic data; analyzing mapped information; sharing and discovering geographic information; using maps and geographic information in a range of applications; and managing geographic information in a database.
The system provides an infrastructure for making maps and geographic information available throughout an organization, across a community, and openly on the Web.
ArcGIS includes the following Windows desktop software:
There are also server-based ArcGIS products, as well as ArcGIS products for PDAs. Extensions can be purchased separately to increase the functionality of ArcGIS.
Prior to the ArcGIS suite, Esri had focused its software development on the command line Arc/INFO workstation program and several Graphical User Interface-based products such as the ArcView GIS 3.x desktop program. Other Esri products included MapObjects, a programming library for developers, and ArcSDE as a relational database management system. The various products had branched out into multiple source trees and did not integrate well with one another. In January 1997, Esri decided to revamp its GIS software platform, creating a single integrated software architecture.
In late 1999, Esri released ArcGIS 8.0, which ran on the Microsoft Windows operating system. ArcGIS combined the visual user-interface aspect of ArcView GIS 3.x interface with some of the power from the Arc/INFO version 7.2 workstation. This pairing resulted in a new software suite called ArcGIS, which included the command-line ArcInfo workstation (v8.0) and a new graphical user interface application called ArcMap (v8.0) incorporating some of the functionality of ArcInfo with a more intuitive interface, as well as an ArcGIS file management application called ArcCatalog (v8.0). The release of the ArcGIS suite constituted a major change in Esri's software offerings, aligning all their client and server products under one software architecture known as ArcGIS, developed using Microsoft Windows COM standards.
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