Geodatabase toolset

[VytautasGipiskis]

Hello,

Looks like most of the ArcCatalog based GDBT functionality is now moved to the new GDB Admin tools. Whats about versioning lineage functionality ? are you planning to include it into the core ?

Thanks,
Vytautas

[BrentPierce]

Vytautas,

The Version Lineage Viewing capabilities are not part of ArcGIS 10.1. Instead of allowing one to see the version lineage which had scalability issues for large versioned geodatabases, what we did at 10.1 was to provide more information about the versioned geodatabase. We really tried to understand was why one needed to see the version lineage and provide that information in a more direct way for geodatabase administrators.

The key areas where this information is provided is:

1. Verbose logging in the Reconcile Versions GP Tool


2. Recommended reconcile order now available in the Versions Tab of the Geodatabase Administration Dialog


3. Recommended reconcile order now exposed as a reconcile option in the Reconcile Versions GP Tool

Hope this helps,
-Brent

[JoshuaBixby]

I am all for improving the tools used to administer a geodatabase, but I think removing the Version Lineage Viewing capabilities is a poor call.  A handy, visual tool can be used for so many different needs/situations that removing it because 3 specific situations have better tools seems hasty.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I just got cursed with looking through thousands of lines of verbose logs to comprehend what can be visually communicated in a diagram or two.  Getting access to actual text messages, through verbose logging, is very important, but it doesn't obviate the need for good visualization tools.

[TomBrown]

Josh,

Would you please be able to provide any examples of how you used the version lineage tool to solve problems or improve a workflow?

Yes, the version lineage tool provides a nice visual representation to how the system works internally - for example, for one to understand how states are created and managed during a reconcile or compress. Nice for educational purposes.

But how does the tool help an administrator?

Thank you for the input as we want to ensure the tools we build provide a solution for the appropriate workflows.

[JoshuaBixby]

Thomas,

Thanks for the reply, and I will definitely work on documenting a couple of use cases for you in the coming weeks.

I work for a large, de-centralized organization with a large, centralized data center.  SDE is an integral part of that data center environment with hundreds of geodatabases for hundreds of geographically distributed branches/offices housed in one location.  Although SDE is centrally deployed, it is managed and used in a de-centralized fashion.  For the local branch/office people, such as myself, that are in charge of managing their respective geodatabase, educating casual GIS users and local management is crucial.  Branch/office SDE administrators wear numerous other GIS-related hats, and GIS teacher and evangelist are two of them.

From my perspective, the educational value of the of the Version Lineage functionality is sufficient to warrant its continued support in Esri's product line.  But if educational value isn't sufficient for some, I believe there is organizational value to the tool.  Visualizing how states are created and managed helps an organization understand how different program areas interact with and utilize geospatial data.  I hope to provide a couple of explicit examples of where visualizing Version Lineage brings business value to an organization.

[JoshuaBixby]

Thomas,

I put a call out within my organization for SDE administrators to comment on the likely loss of the Version Lineage diagram at 10.1.  The replies have started coming in, and I want to give people a week or so to document specific examples of where that functionality has proven invaluable.  Looking over early feedback, there are a couple of prevalent themes, but there are also several unique circumstances where the visual diagram was instrumental in troubleshooting version problems.

I think the response will get a bit involved for this forum.  After I compile and synthesize comments, I will contact you via e-mail about submitting them to you.

Cheers,

[KirkWebb]

Hi All,
Here is my take on this subject as I use the Version Lineage functionality in the GDBT 10.0 often.

Why show a version lineage diagram?
Mappers and cartographers who I understand to be a large part of ESRI's demographic are visual people by nature.  We like to get information quickly from a picture or diagram. 
I mean, why do we use maps instead of just using the attribute table to get information?  Because we can get general information much quicker by looking at the map.  We can't tell what the exact coordinate of a point is just by looking at the map (unless it is labeled) but we do not always need exact information to make decisions.  It is all about making life easier and executing a task quickly.

Thomas wrote:
"Would you please be able to provide any examples of how you used the version lineage tool to solve problems or improve a workflow?"

A perfect example of how I use the version lineage diagram is that I can quickly go to this diagram and get a general idea of who is editing and how much they have been editing.  After recon post compress I can look at the the version lineage diagram to find out very quickly if the process went alright.  In fact, if I accidentally skip a step in the process I can tell immediately by looking at the diagram.
Yes, I know I can query this information and I have to get exact information when needed but I rarely need to.

I believe the version lineage diagram is beneficial functionality that should have been included in 10.1 and I can hardly believe that it was not included.

Kirk Webb