01 Feb 2009, Git4You.com:

ArcGIS 9.3.1 improves the performance of dynamic map publishing and increases the sharing of geographic information.

High-Performance Dynamic Map Publishing

• New faster drawing map service
  • Outperforms equivalent ArcIMS services.
  • Produces significantly better-looking maps.
  • Shortens map caching time.
• New Map Service Publishing toolbar in ArcMap helps you tune-up your map documents before publishing to ArcGIS Server.
  • Review and respond to errors, unsupported content, and warnings about items that will slow down your dynamic map services.
  • Preview your map document and estimated rendering time.
  • Save your map document to a map service definition (msd) format, which is optimized for performance in ArcGIS Server.

Better Sharing of Geographic Information

• Better sharing of layers
  • Layers referencing feature or raster data can be packaged into a single package file of a layer file and data
  • These layer packages can be shared with other users via files, e-mail, or the new ArcGIS Online sharing capability.
  • ArcGIS Online sharing supports
    • Data upload and registration of online services
    • Web search of layers
    • Organization, community groups, and control access to layers
    • Interactive composition of dynamic Web map mash-ups of services

Enhanced Support for Java Developers

• Ability to extend the ArcGIS/ArcObjects Framework. Java developers can now create the following extensions in their native language:
  • Custom geoprocessing tools
  • Server object extensions (SOEs) and utility objects for ArcGIS Server
  • Class extensions for customized data behavior in a geodatabase
  • Custom renderers for customized rendering of data in ArcMap and ArcGIS Engine applications
  • Plug-in data sources
• Tools for debugging, registering and deploying Java extensions for ArcGIS
• Support for Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE)
  • Wizards to generate boilerplate code based on the developer's specification
  • Autodeploy feature

Easy to Install

• Upgrading to ArcGIS 9.3.1 does not require uninstalling ArcGIS 9.3.
• Easy to migrate or work in mixed environments of ArcGIS 9.3 and ArcGIS 9.3.1 within the same organization since geodatabases, map documents, and APIs did not change.

Availability

ArcGIS 9.3.1 is scheduled to be available in Q2 2009. ESRI will automatically ship ArcGIS 9.3.1 to users current on maintenance.

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From ESRI.com