topic Re: Please restore ArcScripts in Developers Questions

Please restore ArcScripts

StephenLead — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 06:43:31 GMT

Anyone trying to visit http://arcscripts.esri.com is redirected to ArcGIS Code Sharing - but the old content from ArcScripts has not been ported across.

I get that ArcScripts is no longer active, but this does not mean that all of the content on ArcScripts is useless. There is many YEARS' worth of user contributions on ArcScripts, which will be lost if this resource is removed.

Esri - can you please remove the redirect on http://arcscripts.esri.com and just include a note telling people to check ArcGIS Code Sharing for up-to-date code?

thanks,

Steve

ping Jim Barry‌

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

DanPatterson_Retired — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 06:50:47 GMT

ditto to timothy_hales-esristaff‌

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

TimothyHales — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 12:16:15 GMT

The old ArcScripts site was placed in read-only mode in April 2010. At that time many of the scripts were brought over into ArcGIS Online. A redirect to the new ArcGIS Code Sharing site was put into place earlier this year since the content is over 6 years old. I do not anticipate the redirect being removed; however, if there are specific scripts that you are looking for please let me know. I can see about pulling them so that they can be accessed.

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

TimWitt2 — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 12:32:05 GMT

Is there a way to bring this one over? ArcGIS Code Sharing

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

DanPatterson_Retired — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 12:58:15 GMT

Tim... the link just went to the Code Sharing site... check your link

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

TimWitt2 — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 13:18:23 GMT

Oh, it is redirected link from arcscripts and I thought Timothy might be able to bring the content over.

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

DanPatterson_Retired — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 13:36:26 GMT

maybe he can... I usually get into the html editor mode, copy the link, past the link elsewhere and split the http bits apart so it copies out as text... Timothy may have magic tools though

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

StephenLead — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:46:42 GMT

Hi Timothy,

IMO it's bad practise to break old links like this - "Many of the scripts were brought over" doesn't fully address the issue.

Esri has a huge legacy of valuable content (contributed by users) which is buried in links all over the web, and the redirect means that these links are now broken. Given that the only people visiting an old ArcScripts link are actually looking for that content, what is the harm in letting them find it?

The fact the content is 6+ years old doesn't matter - an old AML or Avenue script may not be directly usable by someone today, but the concepts may be of use. And remember, the only reason someone is following that link is because they're actually looking for that old AML or Avenue script.

Basically there is no reason for the redirect of all ArcScripts URLs, as it means you're destroying a whole bunch of user-generated content for no gain. A prominent mention of Code Sharing on the ArcScripts landing page would suffice.

Thanks,

Steve

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

GraemeBrowning — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 02:59:26 GMT

It's not ArcScripts, but I came looking for http://forums.esri.com/Thread.asp?c=93&f=982&t=55146 today when I was trying to help someone on an R6025 error, and it just led me to a front page. I don't look for ArcScripts very often but it does worry me when any technical content posted to a community is lost to that community through broken links.

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

StephenLead — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 03:26:15 GMT

An analogy is someone looking for a manual on their 1970's Ford. They find the link to the manual online, but Ford have redirected all old links to Ford.com

Just because Ford don't sell 1970's cars any more, the old manual doesn't suddenly become useless.

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

TedKowal — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 16:34:51 GMT

I concur.... I cannot tell you how many times I have used old 'VBA' code as a reference guide in re-coding apps and tools to the new python/net. Although the code is not valid ... the techniques and principles are!

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

DanPatterson_Retired — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 17:20:08 GMT

Mind you... I rediscovered 'paper copies' after a similar transition many years ago. A good piece of advice for the 'youngin's' that were born into the digital age.

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

TedKowal — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 18:30:36 GMT

Unfortunately, I was born before the digital age..... I have a big library of code print-outs!

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

GEORGECHALARIS — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 08:53:58 GMT

As an old user (since 1982 are info version 2.0, yes there was no version 1.0 ...) my feeling is that the decision to remove this precious code segments from Amos and avenues scripts that after some effort reveal WORKFLOWS AND ALGORITHMS that can be used in another language environment like Python , is "offensive" to the hundreds of people creating these excellent pieces of work, the thousands scripts that show not only history but also cleverness and sophisticated solutions that can be applied again today just coding in another programming language.

Of course it's not a matter of storage and you should revise your decision. After all keeping history is the perfect means not to make the same mistakes again.

Thank you for considering my opinion

George , Athens Greece

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

DanaDiotte2 — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 18:25:55 GMT

I agree. Although all code should be moved over to GitHub similar to how Google moved much it's code content to GitHub but still left an archive on their servers for the less popular code. I'm not sure why ESRI is trying to re-invent the wheel. The code sharing site ESRI created is a great idea but does no allow contribution from everyone, updates, bug fixes, etc. Google created a an exporter tool to move code to GitHub. I am sure ESRI could do the same. Why put the responsibility of maintaining the code on one person when other can contribute and improve code?

Our organization is moving GIS scripts and toolboxes to GitHub now that we have an organizational account to share code with everyone within our organization and outside our organization.

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

DanPatterson_Retired — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 19:53:36 GMT

welcome to GeoNet... it is quite fortuitous that you found this thread on your first day and could contribute your comments. Is there anything that you would like to see specifically recovered? timothy_hales-esristaff‌ can assist if you can provide a link as text or a general description of the name or functionality of the script etc.

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

TimothyHales — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 16:39:25 GMT

DDV's Arkansas Highway Shield Palettes

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

TimWitt2 — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 18:20:19 GMT

Thank you very much!

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

JimBarry — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 19:50:35 GMT

It's clear we didn't do a good enough job explaining what we did and why. I'm overdue for jumping in here.

Despite the fact that the older "esri.com" ArcScripts was frozen to new submissions in 2010, it had been our intention to leave that site up and running as long as folks were using it, linking to it. We also agree that just because some code is 6-19 years old, doesn't make it useless. We did push a large campaign back in 2010 to ask those who own ArcScripts items to consider moving them to ArcGIS Online (thru ArcGIS.com) and due to the new terms of service, this was something that had to be actively agreed to by each items' owner. And because the user accounts between Esri Global and ArcGIS.com might be different, we had no practical way to reconcile the two to move them even if we wanted to. Some users have multiple accounts; which one do they want it moved to? In the end, we asked item owners to control their own items rather than has us muck it up against their wishes.

In the end, in reality, most of those items did not move. Perhaps the owner felt the item was no longer relevant, perhaps the owner was simply gone and didn't care anymore, perhaps a lot of things, but in the end, we kept the site up for 6 years and intended to simply leave it up.

Now while I cannot get into the details why, there was a significant event that occurred a few months back that caused us to summarily and immediately react to pull the site off-line. It is still fully available within Esri, and Tech Support analysts and any other Esri staff can still get to it, if someone contacts us needing something that was one day suddenly not there. One interesting positive by-product of pulling the site offline is that it made external search engines like Google cease crawling it, and thus stop returning decade or so old results on top of new ones. (This was a complaint we've been hearing about for years. That is, someone goes to Google looking for ArcGIS samples, and the returned results point them to stuff that's 5, 10, sometimes 15 years old and obsolete.)

The old site was invented and built in-house using really old technology. To restore the old ArcScripts site would take a significant design and development project, and we didn't have solid means to measure the cost-benefit of doing so, while at the same time pulling developers off other projects that wouldn't get done. Bringing the old ArcScripts back can be done if there is enough demand for it that helps justify making it a priority.

Re: Please restore ArcScripts

DanPatterson_Retired — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 20:17:11 GMT

Thanks Jim... would it be possible to set up a "looking for..." link or place where requests could be directed? If people have a description or can provide a text copy of a link, there might be some pattern as to the time period and/or they types of scripts etc that may be useful to pull.

At least people would have a location to place their requests, which could be monitored rather than the higgly-piggly approach they are using now. You could also see whether there is a ground swell of need or just an intermittent 'need it now' type request.