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We have some experience in using ArcMap and ArcSDE, but this dates back to 2008, so we're not up to date with the recent developments in ESRI products.

Now we're dealing with a database that has some Lat/Lng coordinates stored as plain FLOAT columns. The client wants an HTML5 map that displays some information based on these Lat/Lng coordinates: some point annotations, as well as some arrows between pairs of Lat/Lng coordinates.

I proposed an architecture using Google Maps Javascript API v3 for the map component. I'd write a small web service that would deliver the Lat/Lng coordinates as JSON. In the browser, some small javascripts would display the Lat/Lng data in form of annotations and arrows. No big deal.

However, due to high-level decisions by the customer's management, the map component must be implemented using ESRI products, so my idea with Google Maps and the simple JSON service won't work as intended.

I see the following options:

  1. Basic scripting: We're using roughly the same architecture as we would have used with Google Maps. So we need an HTML5 map component by ESRI that has a Javascript API, so we can display annotations and arrows via Javascript.
  2. WFS service: We install/implement some kind of (OGC-compliant) WFS web service that reads the Lat/Lng values from the Oracle database and serves them as an OGC-compliant feature layer. Then, we're using an HTML5 map component by ESRI to consume that WFS service. No idea how I would implement the arrows between two Lat/Lng pairs.
  3. ESRI service: Maybe ESRI provides a web service component with a generic data source, so we could wire that web service component to the Lat/Lng columns from the DB. This is basically the same architecture as in option 2, but with an ESRI service instead of some generic WFS component.

Thanks for any hints. We're new to the HTML5 world of ESRI, so we're just looking for some what's-possible and how-to-get-started hints.

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As it stands I think your "question" is too broad to be answered in the Q&A format of GIS Stack Exchange.

However, your main question seems to be how to get started with HTML5 and the ArcGIS API for JavaScript and for that there are samples that you can peruse.

If you are looking for answers on whether your architectural options are appropriate I recommend that you try to ask a focussed question on each, and to make it very clear what you are asking by having a single question mark in both the title and body of each question

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