ArcGIS API 4 for JavaScript Released: What’s New for Developers

Esri, an international company that provides Geographic Information System (GIS) software, announced version 4.0 production release of ArcGIS API for JavaScript on Tuesday.

This is the first release of of the 4.x series which is a new rendering of the JavaScript API that Esri decided to launch in addition to the 3.x series. The new 4.x series is aimed to be easier in use as a JavaScript API and support both 2D and 3D visualization.

3D and 2D Made Easy to Use

New version 4.0 of ArcGIS API for JavaScript is suitable for 3D scenes and 2D maps development. It enables developers to build full featured 3D application which can include such rich information layers as terrain, basemaps, imagery, features, and 3D objects.

The APi also includes some core capabilities to create 2D applications. The programming patterns to work with 3D and 2D are very similar and unified. With map views, developers can render a map with either a 2D or a 3D view (or both of them) adding just a few lines of code. In some cases you can even use the same code for both 2D or 3D views as they share the same implementation for layers, navigation, pop¬ups, tasks, symbology, geometry, etc.

But note that not all 2D capabilities that are supported in the 3.x API are supported in the first release of 4.x series (version 4.0). So you should consider requirements for your application to choose the right API version to work with.

Mobile First Approach for User-Friendly Apps 

API 4.0 allows to build applications with responsive design and awesome user interfaces for any device. Widgets are flexible UI building blocks that can be placed wherever it is needed to adapt to different screen resolutions and this provides clean and polished user experience. The API widgets can be used as they are or styled with CSS easily.

Simpler and More Consistent API Design

ArcGIS API 4 for JavaScript offers a cleaner implementation, better customization and integration with third-party frameworks, what results in improved overall developer experience.

Version 4.0 has a lot of improvements and design changes. You can find more information on the official website.

Innowise Group designs and develops web mapping applications using JavaScript and Esri software solutions including ArcGIS.

Java Named Most Popular Programming Language of 2015

Java was named the top development language of 2015, according to TIOBE programming community index.

In 2015 Java experienced 5.94% growth in the ranking and outweighed its rivals a lot.

Why Java?

Java rise comes at the time when there is not so much new to tell about this programming language, apart from the fact that the final release of Java 9 version was recently postponed to 2017.
Such ranking growth can be attributed to Android development, as Java is the most common language in this mobile sector.

TIOBE programming community index

Likely, in 2016 the interest in Java will not drop, because we are awaiting the upcoming Java 9 release which will bring fundamental changes due to its modular system.

The TIOBE index for measurement of the programming languages popularity is questionable and was criticized more than once. But this index is not the only one to determine winners among development languages. Here are the January 2016 results of PYPL index, the ranking which is based on Google Trends info:

It seems that Java has a promising future. You can’t just ignore this language no matter what you think of it.

The Defeated One: Objective-C

With the increasing importance of Swift, which was able to rise from position 25 to 14 within a year, Objective-C became the biggest loser. This language for development of iOS and OS X applications lost almost six points in one year and now ranks only 18 in the index.

A year ago it was found at position 3, not to mention the fact that Objective-C was recognized as the language of the year in 2011 and 2012. Is it gradually becoming extinct?

And what do you think of 2015 winner and loser? Do you agree with the results?

JavaScript: AngularJS 2 Reaches Beta Status

After over a year of development, the first beta version of AngularJS 2 has been released now.

The second generation of AngularJS provides a complete revision of this JavaScript framework which is currently very important for development of single page applications (SPA).

There is every indication that the next generation of AngularJS could be completed in the first quarter of 2016.

The massive changes apparently resulted in a significant performance boost. It means that AngularJS is no longer a framework only for creating websites, but it is also becoming attractive in the field of cross-platform development.

Because of significant changes, AngularJS 2 which is built on Microsoft’s Typescript is not compatible with the current, still up to date release of the framework. Such a decision was made by Google mainly for the benefit of AngularJS improvement and development, but it also encountered a lot of criticism.

Therefore, there are many efforts within the AngularJS community — particularly on the part of Google developers — in order to help developers transfer their application code to the new release. The goal is that the code developed in both AngularJS versions can coexist in the same application.

Google developers report that the alpha code in some products of the company, such as AdWords, Google Fiber website, and internal GreenTea CRM application, already works well.

But the development of AngularJS 2 is not finished yet. Alongside with the obligatory bug fixes, more efforts should be invested to reduce the size of the framework and improve the startup time. In addition, developers started working over animations, internationalization (i18n) and localization features (l10n). Also, the documentation on the website is still in the process of improvement.

Anyone who wants to get his or her own impression of the beta version, can find the code on the project's GitHub page. The final version of AngularJS 2 is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016. Already at this stage, the next generation of the framework renders comparable code apparently eight times faster than AngularJS 1.x.

Innowise Group developers have strong technical knowledge of JavaScript and AngularJS. Our developers are experienced in using AngularJS and deliver high quality JavaScript code. As a team we are dedicated to providing reliable and efficient solutions to satisfy our Customers’ needs. Want to learn more about our JavaScript and AngularJS projects? Feel free to contact us at contact@innowise-group.com