FAQ

This guide is for ArcGIS Location Platform and ArcGIS Online developers who want to perform spatial analysis with client APIs and spatial analysis services. However, many of the topics and programming patterns apply to ArcGIS Enterprise developers who want to use services hosted in their own infrastructure. For these services, the REST API is the same and the base URLs can be substituted in the code examples. In most cases, the client APIs and programming patterns used to access both ArcGIS services and ArcGIS Enterprise services are also the same.

You need ArcGIS Location Platform, ArcGIS Online, or ArcGIS Enterprise to perform spatial analysis. The table below shows the account types you can use to access each analysis type:

The following table is an overview of the resources and the functionality available when implementing each type of authentication:

The cost of performing spatial analysis depends on the type of account you have:

• ArcGIS Location Platform: Uses a pay-as-you-go billing model with a monthly free tier for select services. To learn more, go to ArcGIS Location Platform > Pricing.

• ArcGIS Online: Uses a credit consumption model to access services. To learn about the cost per transaction, go to ArcGIS Online > Understand credits for spatial analysis.

Esri's Terms of Use documents include legal guidelines for the use of Esri products, services, and data.

Some of the key documents you will find are the:

1. Master Agreements
2. Product-specific Terms of Use
3. ArcGIS Location Platform Agreements
4. Data attributions and Terms of Use
5. Copyrights and Trademarks

Geometry analysis is the process of using a client-side API to perform one or more operations on a point, polyline, or polygon to solve a geometric problem. You can use geometry operations to determine the spatial relationship between geometries, perform calculations such as creating a buffer, measure distance and area, and project geometries. The operation you use depends on the type of problem you are trying to solve.

To learn more go to Introduction to geometry analysis

Feature analysis is the process of using the feature analysis service to perform server-side geometric and analytic operations on feature data. To access the service, you can use ArcGIS tools or APIs to execute different types of analyses. For example, you can find features, merge or overlay features, calculate feature statistics, or find patterns and relationships in feature data. The operation you use depends on the type of problem you are trying to solve.

Feature analysis can help solve many different types of problems. For example, you can use it to:

• Understand where features are or where multiple features exist.
• Measure sizes, shapes, and distributions of features.
• Analyze relationships and interactions between features.
• Detect and quantify patterns and relationships between features.
• Make predictions based on existing or theoretical patterns and relationships.

To Learn more go to Introduction to feature analysis

Raster analysis is the process of using client-side APIs or server-side operations on raster data to solve a geospatial problem. You can use raster operations and functions to perform analysis such as detecting patterns, data classifictaion, deep learning analysis, data summarization, multidimensional analysis and raster data management. The operation you use depends on the type of problem you are trying to solve. Raster analysis provides an efficient and powerful set of tools for quantitative analysis, modeling, and visualization of continuous geographic phenomena. It is particularly well-suited for analyzing phenomena like elevation, slope, aspect, chemical concentrations, and other variables that can be represented as a continuous raster surface.

Use raster analysis to:

• Perform operations like overlay analysis, neighborhood operations, and map algebra.
• Process large raster datasets.
• Classify land cover.
• Perform change detection.
• Perform suitability mapping and site selection.

To learn more go to Introduction to raster analysis

A 3D visual analysis is a type of spatial analysis that calculates and displays spatial information derived from the terrain, buildings, and other 3D objects contained within a scene. 3D visual analysis consists of two major classes of analysis: visibility analyses which determine what is visible from a certain point and measurement analyses which determine the physical dimensions of 3D elements. 3D visual analysis is typically an interactive process and the results can be updated as the user input and environment change. When an analysis is complete, the results can be displayed on a scene to solve problems and gain a better understanding of complex 3D environments.

You can use 3D visual analyses to:

• Display the visibility (viewshed) of surface terrain and 3D objects from a viewpoint.
• Calculate and display the visibility of a target from an observer.
• Dynamically make line-of-sight and visibility calculations.
• Measure the vertical, horizontal, and direct distance between two points.
• Measure the area and perimeter of a polygon.

To learn more go to Introduction to 3D visual analysis