nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Switching from ESRI to SmallWorld

EthanHeidtman

Hey everyone,

I just had a question regarding if anyone has switched from ESRI to SmallWorld software and how difficult was it to learn? I have an interview this week for a GIS Technician position with Duke Energy and this company uses SmallWorld software, a GE product. However, I was trained on ArcMap software and know python programming language. I read that SmallWorld uses a language called Magik?

If anyone has had to switch, some insight would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone knows where I can learn more about the software, I have already googled and am coming up short, and YouTube is limited.

Thanks a lot!

Ethan

Find more posts tagged with

Accepted answers

All comments

RameshGannerla

Hi John,

Actually Small world magik is an interesting programming language.

Programming is based OOPS concepts. So you can easily understand the

programming.

Thanks,

Ramu.

XanderBakker

Hi bradley eckrose ,

Just a few notes:

Keeping your ArcGIS skills fresh while actually using a different platform is difficult with the current ESRI offerings. (Licenses are way too expensive for hobbyists, casual users, or open-source geeks!)

There is a ArcGIS for Personal Use Program | ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced for Personal Use where you have access to a great part of the ArcGIS platform for a mere $100 per year. This is intended for studying and keeping up te date (no commercial use allowed).

edit: and Joe Flannery beat me to it...

I returned to the ArcGIS fold only recently, having left it at version 9.3, and playing catch-up is a full-time job in itself. And I was surprised how much COM is still involved...

Next week ArcGIS 10.6 and ArcGIS Pro 2.1 will be launched. ArcGIS Enterprise will have a new extension called ArcGIS Utility Network Management extension (Esri Utility Network Pro ). This service based architecture will leverage utility network management capabilities to the entire platform. Apart from web apps and mobile devices, naturally, you will be able to interact with the utility network and all the capabilities using ArcGIS Pro (not with ArcMap). So, no COM there...

JoeFlannery

Keeping your ArcGIS skills fresh while actually using a different platform is difficult with the current ESRI offerings. (Licenses are way too expensive for hobbyists, casual users, or open-source geeks!)

For $100 per year, you get all of this for personal use. A fantastic deal in my mind.

ArcGIS for Personal Use Program | ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced for Personal Use

bradleyeckrose

I know this is a dead thread, but I have a little experience in Smallworld arena.

In the mid 2000s I had briefly switched from Intergraph to Smallworld (version 3.something) for a data conversion gig, and it was fairly straightforward to understand, especially if you have someone give you a tour. There are a lot of analogs between all GISes, given the common underlying problems with geospatial data storage, manipulation, and representation. Similar ideas map easily, for example, versioning, geometry, rendering etc.

The data model was robust (many geometry properties allowed in one object!), the network actually worked, and so did versioning, and Magik seemed like a simplified javascript syntax before javascript got formal packages and requires. And it worked on a command line as well. I never understood how ESRI gained any traction in the utility space. Shows the good marketing efforts of ArcFM I guess.

Since Duke *is* a utility, Smallworld is a quite a good solution for that problem domain. Many of the "GIS" capabilities are similar, but the value-added is specifically for utility networks and GE has a long and successful track record in that space.

Utility networks are something that ESRI has only recently begun to address within its core products, delegating most utility-oriented functionality to 3rd party partners until now. Made a lot of consultants rich back in the day.

Since I left the Intergraph and Smallworld arenas to join the ArcGIS juggernaut, it appears Smallworld has added some java interfaces to attract more mainstream developers and has tried to plant itself firmly as a large-enterprise, big-data-center solution.

Keeping your ArcGIS skills fresh while actually using a different platform is difficult with the current ESRI offerings. (Licenses are way too expensive for hobbyists, casual users, or open-source geeks!) At minimum you need to keep a current ArcGIS Online subscription if you ever think you will move back to an ArcGIS shop. And integrating open datasets available from ESRI and other sources with whatever GIS platform you end up on is a necessity to keep your skills current.

The pace of architectural change ArcGIS has gone through in recent years is daunting, and especially now, given the new network, new versioning, new data service and container architectures, new APIs, 3D, and new ... well everything. I returned to the ArcGIS fold only recently, having left it at version 9.3, and playing catch-up is a full-time job in itself. And I was surprised how much COM is still involved...

Brad

EthanHeidtman

Thanks I will check out those links you listed above. I am unsure how many candidates are experienced in SmallWorld software. However, they did hire a classmate of mine for a GIS Technician position, who I know had no prior experience with the software because here at Miami University we only use ESRI products. So this does give me hope that knowing the GIS concepts in general plays a large part in getting the job.

MikeVolz

You might be pigeon-holing yourself for future positions that would require ESRI software if you dive deep into Smallworld and its programming language where you would forget ESRI objects and programming language(s).

ChrisSmith7

This may be your best bet without attending a training class:

Tutorials - Smallworld GIS Wiki

Maybe peruse their forums and blogs page, too?

Forums & Blogs - Smallworld GIS Wiki

And check-out this presentation:

http://sw-gis.wdfiles.com/local--files/smallworldonlinecommunitypresentation/SWOnlineComm.pdf

Since Smallworld is for niche markets, you shouldn't really be at a disadvantage if you've never used it before... How many candidates are they fielding who have direct experience doing this and are looking to move laterally to another GIS Technician position? If you know GIS concepts, that is half the battle... just present yourself as motivated and learn the Smallworld buzz words and abstract concepts!

Join the Conversation

Signed in members can post, follow updates, and more. New here? Register a free account.

Quick Links

Community Help
Find useful guides, FAQs, and documents to help you navigate and make the most of Esri Community.