For the more than 2,100 developers attending the fourteenth annual Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit), the relaunch of the ArcGIS for Developers program was one of the highlights. The event, held March 5–8, 2019, in Palm Springs, California, drew attendees who came to network, learn about the latest developments in ArcGIS, showcase their work, and interact with the hundreds of Esri development staff at the event.
In brief comments at the opening of the Plenary Session, Esri president Jack Dangermond and DevSummit MC and ArcGIS program manager Jim McKinney lauded the work of developers as both awesome and valuable. Dangermond emphasized Esri’s shift to “focus on developers and making your lives better.” In addition to incorporating developer feedback and constantly improving Esri’s development tools, the ArcGIS for Developers program is more streamlined, flexible, and affordable.
Capabilities Developers Need
The new features of this program were introduced by Euan Cameron, chief technology officer for the Runtime and Applications group at Esri during the Plenary Session. The ArcGIS for Developers program gives developers access to tools for native and web development that target mobile and desktop platforms and devices. These include the ArcGIS Runtime SDKs for Android, iOS, Java, .NET, Qt, and macOS; ArcGIS APIs for JavaScript and Python; and the REST API.
These tools help developers create interactive data visualizations in 2D and 3D using GPU-accelerated rendering and client-side analytics. Of course, geocoding, routing, and search capabilities can be incorporated in apps, as well as smart mapping and data-driven mapping that guide the creation of effective data visualizations. SDKs support apps that can work offline or in conditions of intermittent connectivity.
Data is vital to the success of apps. With any developer plan, developers get access to Esri’s vector and raster basemaps, available in several ready-to-use styles and built with the best authoritative data available from leading providers and the Esri community. Vector maps can be easily customized using the ArcGIS Vector Style Editor.
Esri also hosts a new vector basemap based on OpenStreetMap, which has unlimited map views per month, so there is no extra charge no matter how popular an application is. OpenStreetMap is constantly updated, and those updates are incorporated immediately as the changes are contributed. ArcGIS GeoEnrichment Service lets apps do more by supplying current demographic and business information by location. Data hosting can be handled by the developer or Esri. Esri hosting is private and secure.
Quickly Productive
ArcGIS developer tools let you do less and produce more. Maps and geocoding can be integrated into your app in just a few lines of code. Out-of-the-box widgets and components provide instant functionality, and app builders let you build apps without any coding. ArcGIS DevLabs are focused exercises that teach practical implementations of APIs and SDKs. Samples and open-source projects are available on GitHub.
Affordable and Easy-to-Manage Plans
Existing developer subscriptions have automatically rolled over to the subscriptions in the new program. Free subscriptions become Essentials subscriptions with the same resources as previously. Paid developer plans are now referred to as Builder plans that allow commercial deployment and have pay-as-you-go pricing.
Manage your developer plan through a dashboard that organizes information on your credits and plan and provides access to tokens, keys, and the latest news on releases and learning resources. It can be customized with your preferred APIs and SDKs so relevant suggestions and developer tips are surfaced.
Developers who are new to the program can start for free with the Essentials plan, which lets you build and deploy unlimited, non-revenue-generating apps using any ArcGIS API or SDK and the configurable apps and Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS. Host, query, and analyze your map data and style basemaps with one million basemap and geocode transactions per month. Beyond the 50 free service credits each month, pricing is pay-as-you-go.
With the Builder plan, you get unlimited commercial deployment of your apps, whether through sales or subscription. In addition to everything in the Essentials plan, this plan provides ArcGIS Online apps, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and Esri Technical Support. It can be purchased on a monthly or yearly basis.
