Fall 2010
[an error occurred while processing this directive]At the FOSS4G Conference in Barcelona, Spain, Esri announced the release of the GeoServices REST Specification. This open specification provides a standard way for Web clients to communicate with GIS servers through Representational State Transfer (REST) technology. The specification has been opened such that developers can expose the GeoServices API request structure from ArcGIS Server and other non-Esri, back-end GIS servers or processes.
By adopting the GeoServices REST Specification for a server implementation, users are choosing a proven specification that has been widely deployed and exercised in the field and exposes server-side resources to a broad range of clients and applications. The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)-based, REST-ful specification makes the server instantly usable by thousands of developers working in popular client-side development environments with the ArcGIS Web mapping APIs for JavaScript, Flex, Silverlight, iOS, and Android, all of which are powered by the GeoServices REST Specification.
"In many ways, by releasing the GeoServices REST Specification as open technology, Esri is repeating what it did in the early '90s, releasing shapefiles as an open data format," explains Dr. Satish Sankaran, Esri product manager for interoperability and standards. "This specification encapsulates a strong platform that allows developers to create services that support rich GIS Web applications and allows geospatial services to be embedded into anything on the Web, including commercial off-the-shelf products, open source, and even mashups. The GeoServices REST Specification helps make all GIS data more open and interoperable on the Web."
To download the GeoServices REST Specification, visit www.esri.com/technology-topics/standards.
See also "52�North Supports the GeoServices REST Specification."
