ziggis

So, Which Is It?

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.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k]

One of the first indications of direct support was this statement from the ESRI UC Q&A.

Read moreSo, Which Is It?

Taking A Look At PgMap

When I blogged about the official end of zigGIS last week, I included a mention of PgMap, a free extension to ArcMap for direct read/edit of PostGIS data. Judging from outbound links, there seems to be a good bit of interest in it so I decided to take a look.

To recap, Abe decided to pull the plug on zigGIS due to the fact that ESRI will support direct read/edit of spatial databases (as simple features) in 10.1. In my opinion, this is a good development. With native support coming, there was no need to continue with zigGIS. That support, however, will only exist in ArcGIS 10.1. Users of older versions will need to find alternatives. Based on our experience with zigGIS (as well as download data I’ve seen for the WeoGeo toolbar), there are a lot of people (especially outside the US) still using ArcGIS 9.x so demand for an alternative will probably be high for some time.

Read moreTaking A Look At PgMap

Me and zigGIS

If you’ve been to the Obtuse Software site recently, you may or may not have noticed a change to the “Who We Are” page. It now lists only Abe Gillespie and Paolo Corti. Prior to my trip to Colorado to talk about zigGIS at GIS in the Rockies, I informed Abe and Paolo that I would be stepping back from any “official” involvement in Obtuse.

This does not mean that I am stepping back from involvement in zigGIS. I plan to continue to support zigGIS as it returns to open-source but, in truth, I haven’t done much with zigGIS day-to-day in a long time. As part of the return of zigGIS to open-source at version 3.0, Abe has been working on a plan to give the community multiple paths to support the project, including sponsorship and technical support plans. I’m sure he’ll have the details out soon so I’ll leave it at that (since it’s not my story to tell). So, as Obtuse transitions to more of a supporting role for the zigGIS 3.0 open-source project, I felt that this was a good time to step away and become part of the community.

Read moreMe and zigGIS

Gearing up for GIS in the Rockies

I finally got around to finishing my travel plans for GIS in the Rockies (personal obligations prevent me from making it out for Ingite Spatial NoCo). I booked my flight a while ago but I had been procrastinating on the hotel and rental car. This will be my first time in that part of Colorado so I am looking forward to seeing the area and meeting people out there. NoCo is second only to the DC area in clustering of folks in my Twitter crowd.

Read moreGearing up for GIS in the Rockies

A Look at “PostGIS In Action”

Over the past few weeks, I have been reading a copy of the upcoming book by Regina Obe and Leo Hsu titled “PostGIS In Action.” Through my work with zigGIS and some of my consulting work with Zekiah, I have been using PostGIS with good results for some time now. I have found that it matches or exceeds the capabilities of its commercial counterparts and I can be quite productive with it.

Regina has been a frequent contributor to zigGIS discussions over the years and her expertise with PostGIS has definitely helped Abe, Paolo and I as we have worked on it. Also, many tips from the Boston GIS blog/site have been very helpful so I have been looking forward to this book for some time.

Read moreA Look at “PostGIS In Action”