Update: I pulled this link out of the comment thread below to emphasize it. It seems to answer this question for now: http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/35676-Edit-spatial-data-with-quot-ArcGIS-for-Desktop-10.1-quot-in-non-SDE-RDBMS-systems
Since my previous posts about PgMap and the shuttering of zigGIS, the nature of the planned support for connecting directly to spatial databases from ArcGIS 10.1 has gotten somewhat muddier.
One of the first indications of direct support was this statement from the ESRI UC Q&A.
This statement, of course, doesn’t specifically say anything about editing. I followed up with some people at ESRI (who shall remain nameless) who said the intent was to support editing of spatial databases in the same manner as current simple feature editing. So there we have it, read/edit from ArcMap without the need of ArcSDE.
Or not…
Subsequently, I have gotten a direct message on Twitter (from someone outside ESRI) indicating that editing will be supported only through the Spatial Data Server (SDS) and will require an SDS license. That seems to be bolstered by this PDF from the ESRI UC.
So, at this point, I’ll confess to being a little confused. There’s a lot of new technology and capability being introduced at 10.1. (Hmmmm, maybe it should be 11.0?) So, given that it’s all still in beta, I’ll chalk it up to general churn associated with an impending release.
Regardless of what the exact story is, I’m not sure it’ll affect any decisions related to zigGIS. If ArcMap isn’t supported, PgMap is still a compelling alternative for ArcGIS Desktop users. But perhaps someone from ESRI can help clear this up so the community can know what to expect.
I think this post from Derek Law (ArcGIS Server Product Management) makes it quite clear that the Spatial Data Server will be necessary to edit non-geodatabase RDBMS layers and that SDS will require an ArcGIS server license. Or maybe I’m misinterpreting it? Do you agree?
Link:
http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/35676-Edit-spatial-data-with-quot-ArcGIS-for-Desktop-10.1-quot-in-non-SDE-RDBMS-systems
Referring to my blogpost link above, I think the key statement in your forum link here is:
“The idea [behind SDS] is to integrate non-complex business data with geographic data”.
The REST is business as usual for Esri, but as I read it simple features outside Esri…
That’s the way I read that as well. So, it looks like no dice with ArcMap for the immediate future. At least there are still 3rd-party tools to enable it.
See my latest blogpost on this:
http://bit.ly/nQ6UX3
Thanks. I agree with your points in your post. At this point, I’m less concerned about what the final state will be than with getting a firm picture of it.
I honestly attribute this to the usual rounds of conflicting information that can emerge ahead of a significant release of a large piece of software. If it turns out that ArcMap will behave as it always has, that’s fine. Then we can continue business as usual with third-party solutions to meet the need of users that are looking for direct connections. That’s always been the spirit of the relationship ESRI has had with developers (at least in my experience).
If they decide they want to roll it into the core product, that’s fine, too.
Have you heard of the River Pecos… too thick to drink, too thin to plough?