[postgis-users] how to connect ArcGIS 9.3 to PostgiswithoutArcSDE ?

[Paragon Corporation]

> Granted SDE does afford some things like hmm versioning and RASTER
storage?

> But versioning and raster storage are only for ESRI clients, no? If you
wanted to use uDig or OpenJump to access
>  version tables or access constraint information held in the ESRI GDB_*
table soup can you? 

Udig maybe, OpenJump nope.   Other tools FME I assume you can.  I think
Mapserver speaks to ArcSDE in some way (I mean you need ArcSDE libraries to
compile the SDE support), but don't know if that means it is accessing the
versioned since its going thru the ArcSDE layer.  


> The thing about all spatial databases is that they provide a client
agnostic, centralised data management tier 
> that is accessible by all. Putting an ArcSDE middleware layer over the top
of a database and then storing 
> corporate data in a proprietary format not accessible to anyone else via
the normal APIs and access protocols is
> what I argue against whenever I can.

> But, (check this out), I don't actually say that the ArcSDE API should not
exist. I have no problem with ESRI 
> creating a common data access API for all its clients to "harmonise" or
"standardise" the access language. 
> Oracle's SDO_* operators and PostGIS's && etc operators are a case in
point.

Couldn't agree with you more on this.  That is the biggest gripe I have with
ESRI.  I mean the only tool I can adequately use to get at the data of a
pure ArcSDE install seems to be ArcMap.  I mean hell I can run spatial
queries with PostGIS from MS Access/PHP/.NET with one freely available
library but ArcSDE just is an eyesore.  That's actually all I use ArcMap for
- pull the data and get quickly out of that tool.  

Its not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate what others see in it --e.g 3D
Analyst, their Solar... Something or other algorithms, extensive .NET API
and of course their beautiful cartography.  

To a more or less pure database analyst/decision support application
developer like me, these things are thoroughly yawning and just add
unnecessary complexity and bloat to my already complex business process
specific algorithms.


Thanks,
Regina