Announcing: the Flex-A-Widget Challenge for the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex

[DerekLaw]

We would like to announce the Flex-A-Widget Challenge, a developer competition for the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex. The challenge: either modify an existing widget or create your own custom widget for the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex application, then submit it as part of the Viewer code gallery.

The widget must work on the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex 2.2 or higher release. You can enter as many widgets as you like for the competition. If you have previously submitted a widget onto the Viewer code gallery, you are welcome to enter them into this competition.

We recommend that you submit the following as part of your widget entry:

• A compiled version of your widget that works in the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex application


• The source code for your widget


• A ReadMe file that explains what the widget does and how to install/configure it


• An associated sample service available to see it in action (if needed)

The winner of the competition will be decided by public voting.

The Flex-A-Widget Challenge is open to everyone except Esri distributors, Esri employees, or their immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of such employee or person. Additional information and rules are available from here.

More detailed information on the rules and widget sumbmissions will be posted shortly.

Good luck and we hope you enter often!!!

Sincerely,
The Esri Flex Development team

[LemvigKommune]

Hi Derek

how does the thing about you writing that if one have submitted a widget to the gallery, one can enter them to the competition, when the official rules for the competition item 6 states the following:

"Contest Period: Widget Sample(s) may be submitted after 9:00 a.m. Pacific standard time (PST) on Friday, January 14, 2011, and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. PST Friday, February 25, 2011 ("Contest Period"). Widget Sample(s) received before or after these dates and times will not be considered. Widget Sample(s) is considered received when accepted by Sponsor."

Mads Gren

[DerekLaw]

Hi Mads,

Great question. Unfortunately, the terminology used in the official rules for the competition is a little confusing. In the quote you reference:

  "Contest Period: Widget Sample(s) may be submitted after   9:00 a.m. Pacific standard time (PST) on Friday, January 14, 2011, and must be received no later than   5:00 p.m. PST Friday, February 25, 2011 ("Contest Period").   Widget Sample(s) received before or after these dates and times will not be considered. Widget Sample(s) is considered received when accepted by Sponsor."

The term "Widget Sample(s)" really means "widget competition entry form" and not the actual submission/upload of the widget(s) onto the Viewer code gallery. So, widgets that are already available on the Viewer code gallery can be entered into the competition, as long as the "widget competition entry form" is submitted within the time period specified by the official rules. Does that make sense?

FYI: The Flex-A-Widget Challenge official rules

FYI 2: Due to technical difficulties on our end, "widget competition entry forms" cannot be submitted today. We will start accepting widget entry forms starting Wednesday Janurary 19th, 2011.

Hope this helps,

[LemvigKommune]

thanks for the news, but i think you should put that information on the competition site as well.

Mads

[DerekLaw]

Hi Mads,

Good idea. We are working on updating the competition page.

Thanks for your suggestion,

[RobertScheitlin__GISP]

Derek,

   Are we still waiting on the entry form to be completed? Any ETA on when this will be available?

[DerekLaw]

Hi Robert,

I believe the widget submission entry form is live now:

Submit Your Widget to the Flex-A-Widget Challenge

(FYI: this is linked from the competition homepage)

Is it not working for you?

[ReneRubalcava]

It wasn't up this morning when Robert posted, but I just submitted my widgets and seems to work fine. Is there a page where we can see what we submitted? Or will it just warn us that the link was already submitted? I only ask, because I almost submitted a widget twice while I had a dozen browser tabs open.

Thanks and this is kind of fun.

[RobertScheitlin__GISP]

Derek,

   OK, the issue is that the the http://www.esri.com/events/devsummit/pdfs/widget-instructions.pdf has what looks like clickable links to the the entry form, code gallery, etc. But they are not actual hyperlinks.

[DerekLaw]

Hi Rene,

... Is there a page where we can see what we submitted? Or will it just warn us that the link was already submitted? ...

Currently, we don't have a Web page that shows which widgets have been submitted for the competition. When we open up voting, we'll have a compiled list of all the widget entries.

After you've submitted a widget for the competition, you should receive a confirmation email. As this is the first day, there may be a slight delay. 🙂

Additionally, if you followed the submission steps, you should have tagged your widget item with the word "challenge". You can do a quick search in the Viewer code gallery for "challenge" and filter for widgets to verify that you're entry was made.


Hi Robert,

... the issue is that the the http://www.esri.com/events/devsummit/pdfs/widget-instructions.pdf has what looks like clickable links to the the entry form, code gallery, etc. But they are not actual hyperlinks.

Thanks for catching this. We are working on correcting the links and updating the doc.



Good luck to both of you and thanks for participating,