Chapter 1: Get Started with Web GIS
Web GIS combines the web and geographic information systems (GIS). It allows users to interact with GIS apps and access information globally. Web GIS use has recently increased throughout various organizations, including government agencies, businesses, science research, and daily uses. Web GIS can be applied to several applications, including mapping/visualization, data management, field mobility, monitoring, analytics, design/planning, decision support, constituent engagement, and sharing/collaboration. Web GIS elements include users, groups, content items, and metadata. Web GIS’s main content items are data, layers, tools, web maps, scenes, and apps. Apps are what users are directly interacting with while using Web GIS and include configurable apps, ArcGIS StoryMaps stories, mobile apps, app builders, and more. The components of a Web GIS app include basemaps, operational layers, and tools. Basemaps provide a reference or context for an app; a wide variety of basemaps are provided, but users can also create their own. Operational layers are theme layers that can be interacted with. Finally, tools can perform query, geocoding, routing, and more tasks to solve spatial problems.
Chapter 2: Smart Mapping and Storytelling with GIS
Feature layers are the most common type of operational layers and are essentially web services that can be reused in many web maps, scenes, and apps. Hosted layers are the most widely used operational layer published to the Esri geospatial cloud; they include hosted feature layers, hosted web feature service (WFS) layers, hosted tile layers, hosted vector tile layers, hosted web map tile service (WMTS) layers, hosted scene layers, hosted image layers, and hosted map image layers. Hosted feature layers can be published in the following ways: create a feature layer from a user’s data, create a feature layer from an existing template, and create an empty feature layer and define your fields interactively. Smart mapping allows users to visually analyze, create, and share professional-quality maps without the need for extensive cartographic or software skills. Smart-mapping styles include heat maps, color/size, comparison of two fields, relationship between two fields, dot density, predominant, type/size, continuous timeline (color/size), and vector field. ArcGIS Living Atlas allows users to find operational and basemap layers to use in projects. The following data can be found within ArcGIS Living Atlas: basemaps, imagery, boundaries, people, infrastructure, and environment.
Application Idea: Based on the information I gathered from Chapters 1 and 2, my application idea is to mark buildings (dorms, dining halls, libraries) and departments (STEM buildings, history buildings, etc.) on the Ohio Wesleyan Campus using data provided by Delaware County Ohio GIS Data Hub.