Short description of the Esri grid format
An Esri grid is a raster GIS file format developed by Esri and is mostly compatible with Esri products. It includes the following two formats:
- A proprietary binary format, also known as an ArcInfo GRID, Arc GRID and many other variations
- A non-proprietary ASCII format, also known as an ArcInfo ASCII GRID
The formats were introduced for ArcInfo. The binary format is widely used within Esri programs, such as ArcGIS, while the ASCII format is used as an exchange, or export format, due to the simple and portable ASCII file structure.
The grid defines geographic space as an array of equally sized square grid points arranged in rows and columns. Each grid point stores a numeric value that represents a geographic attribute (such as elevation or surface slope) for that unit of space. Each grid cell is referenced by its x,y coordinate location.
The Role of ESRI Grid in SDDI
Currently, ESRI Grid files are not being used in the SSD project. However, it can be used as an important source of the Web Map Service and can be supported by a variety of implementations.
Format Specification
Specification documents: http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/manage-data/raster-and-images/esri-grid-format.htm