ArcWhat?

The "Arc-jargon" of ESRI's software nomenclature can be quite confusing for the newcomer to GIS. The software has evolved from the days when ESRI made one program, ARC/INFO. The program still exists; however, it is now wrapped into a bigger package called ArcGIS. The capabilities of ArcGIS are divided between three sub-programs: ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcToolbox.

Since Stanford University Libraries has a site license with ESRI, you can use this valuable software for free. However, ESRI makes their software scalable for organizations wanting to save money by sacrificing functionality. Therefore, three products are available, each with a greater license fee: ArcView, ArcEditor, ArcInfo. As you can see in the diagram below, users of ArcView will be able to perform most of the operations in ArcMap, and some of the operations in ArcCatalog and ArcToolbox. If they pay for ArcEditor they will gain access to more tools in each program. Finally, if they pay for an ArcInfo license they will have access to all the operations in ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcToolbox (constituting a complete ArcGIS package). Luckily, we at Stanford get access to this complete package when we install ArcGIS. So, to make a long story short, the "Arcs" of concern to you are ArcGIS, which includes ArcMap, ArcCatalog and ArcToolbox.

 

• This document lists, in detail, the capabilities of the different ArcGIS desktop clients: ArcGisDesktopSheet.pdf
• Other "Arc" software available from ESRI are best described by clicking a product name on the software page.