We’ve had quite a few requests from developers new to our JavaScript, Adobe Flex and Microsoft Silverlight APIs asking for pointers on where to start. There is a lot of good content out there, sometimes it exists in places you might not have thought to look.
The best place to start is in the Resource Centers. Each API has a dedicated Resource Center that contains a treasure trove of code samples, as well as concept docs, complete API reference, videos (Media Gallery) and community contributed sample apps (Code Galleries).
Read through the Concepts section, walk through all the code samples, and read the explanations. Each Media Gallery has full-length DevSummit tech session videos that offer an experience similar to taking an online course. And, be sure to subscribe to the Forums via RSS so you can get a feel for the types of questions that are being asked.
We have also pulled together a list of Hello World tutorials, introductory classes, articles and videos. The links are below. If you know of any other good getting started links that we may have left out or are new, be sure to post a comment and share them with the rest of the community.
- Getting Started – Adding a Map (Copy the code and try it yourself)
- Building Mashups using the ArcGIS JavaScript APIs (Free, Self study, Virtual Campus)
- Building Web Maps Using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript (Instructor Led Course)
- Add a Map to a Web Page in Three Simple Steps (Article)
- Quick Intro to the ArcGIS JavaScript API (Intro Video)
- An Overview of the ArcGIS JavaScript APIs (DevSummit 2009 Video)
- Getting Started (Copy the code and try it yourself)
- Building Rich Internet Applications with ArcGIS API for Flex (Free, Self Study, Virtual Campus)
- Building Your First Rich Internet Applications with ArcGIS API for Flex (DevSummit 2009 Video)
- ArcGIS API for Flex, Basics for Developers (Intro Video)
- Creating Your First Application using ArcGIS API for Flex (Two Minute Demo Video)
ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight/WPF
- Getting Started Hello World App and Video (Copy the code and try it yourself)
- Introduction to the ArcGIS API for Silverlight (DevSummit 2009 Video)
- Interactive Samples (Try it live, copy/paste XAML, C# or VB.NET)
- Silverlight Toolkit (Open source for mapping widgets)
- An Overview of Authoring and Publishing Services (Desktop Help)
- Creating and Publishing Web Maps (Desktop Help)
- ArcGIS Server REST API (Reference Doc)
Last but not least, there is also playlist on Youtube called ESRITV that contains short, Channel 9-style videos. These include behind-the-scenes interviews with the dev teams, as well as instructional, how-to videos.
