Open source GIS and Interactive Web mapping (GISc3094)

By: Elias Cherenet

Objectives
 Upon completing the course, students will be able to:
◦ Develop the skill of searching open source systems available worldwide for defined activity
(both with respect to data and software)
◦ Identify the pros and cons of OSS and Commercial Software
◦ Evaluate open source systems (QGIS software and data)
◦ Understand how Map Server applications operate
◦ perform the skills of spatial data entry, management and modeling in QGIS
◦ Use internet/intranet for web-mapping (interactive mapping)
◦ Understand Google Earth Engine for spatial Data access and Analysis
◦ Recognize creating, managing and sharing spatial data through ArcGIS online
◦ Identify the spatial database management system in PostGIS
◦ Use and apply mobile data collection toolkits such as ODK/kobo toolbox and collect earth

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1. Introduction

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GIS
•GIS is often described as an integration of data, software & hardware designed for
management, processing, analysis and visualization of Georeferenced data.

•The software component has a major impact on the capabilities to effectively solve a wide range of
problems using Geospatial data
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4
•GIS software
• ‒ One of the five components of GIS
• ‒ Elements must allow the user to handle geographic data:
•Input
•Store
•Manage
•Transform
•Analyze
•Output
Definition and Concepts Free software and Open Source

Definition
1.1 What is open source?
A. Open Source
 “Open source” software is technically defined as software in which the source
code is available for modification and redistribution by the general public.
 There are a myriad of different open source software licenses, and
 The “Open Source Initiative” (http://www.opensource.org/) has taken on the role
of general arbiter of license correctness.
 Fundamentally, successful open source software (OSS) projects are not created
by releasing free source code - they are created through the growth of
communities of shared interest.
The Principles of Open Source
The idea of open source software has been around for almost as long as software has
been developed. The results of research and development at the universities and
government laboratories have been often made available in the form of public domain
software packages. “Free,” we mean that it respects the users' essential freedoms:
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of
“free” as in “free speech”, not as in “free beer”.
 cont…
B.FREE SOFTWARE
Richard M. Stallman first defined the concept of free software in form of four freedoms.
1. freedom(0): The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
(e.g., no matter if for educational or business purposes)
2. freedom(1): The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs. Access
to the source code is a precondition for this.
3. freedom(2): The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.
4.freedom(3): The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public,
so that the whole community benefits. Access to the source code is a precondition for
this.www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html)
Software following these four principles is called “Free Software”.
 cont…
 In this sense “free” takes on concepts of the public domain such that there are no rights
to exclude.
 Hence, software that is (i) gratis, i.e., free-of-cost, and (ii) permits viewing of the source
code does not automatically qualify as “free and open source” software. If the user’s
rights include the right of independent use, of modification, and of free distribution –
only then – can the software be called “free” and “open source” software.
 C. Open Source GIS

 Refers to Non-Commercial GIS Products GIS software in which the source code is available for
modification and redistribution by the general public.

 The Open Source GIS space includes products to fill every level of the Open GIS spatial data
infrastructure stack.

 Existing products are now entering a phase of rapid refinement and enhancement, using the
core software structures that are already in place.

 Open Source software can provide a feature-complete alternative to proprietary software in

most system designs.

 Example ,QGISV ArcGIS

GIS software categories

There are basically two types of GIS software categories based on the type of the
license they have :
‒ Proprietary/Commercial
‒ Free software
‒ Open source
GIS software categories
The classification includes:
• Desktop GIS, used for data creation, editing, analysis and map generation; and
• Spatial Database Management Systems (Spatial DBMS) that are used for the storage of
data;
• Web map server for the delivery of map like representations over the Internet;
• Server GIS, that are used to remotely process, e.g., analyze, spatial data;
• Web GIS clients, to display and query spatial data stored at remote locations that are only
accessible via Internet or intranet;
• Mobile GIS, which are most often used for data acquisition in the field; and finally
• GIS libraries and extensions, which provide special functions that can enhance standard
(desktop) GIS capabilities, or be used to build customized GIS applications, including web
mapping applications
Proprietary GIS Software
•Copyright: The software is under restrictive copyright licensing

and the source code is usually hidden from the users.

‒ Software, where programmers are paid by a company to create software that is sold for

profit, and
‒ The source code for the software is hidden and copyrighted.
Closed Source Software Dev.
Provides the user the right to use the software as stated in the
license
Does not provide the right to redistribute the software/the license
The user does not own software. Instead owns the license as
stated in the users policy.
Provides the license for
-Limited users
-For limited functions / parts of the software
-Limited period or permanently
Limits the user to update the software
Users depend on their potential to acquire the license
Currently being used world widely includes: ?...
 Overview to commercial GIS software’s
• ESRI – Products include ArcView 3.x, ArcGIS, ArcSDE, ArcIMS, and ArcWeb services.

• GRAM++ GIS – Low-cost GIS software product developed by CSRE, IIT Bombay.

• Autodesk –MapGuide and other products that interface with its AutoCAD software package.

• Cadcorp – Developers of GIS software and OpenGIS standard

• Intergraph –GeoMedia, GeoMedia Profesional, GeoMedia WebMap

• ERDAS IMAGINE –GIS, Remote Sensing, and Photogrammetry software by Leica Geosystems Geospatial
Imaging IDRISI –GIS developed by Clark Labs

• IDRISI (Clark Laboratories)

• ENVI(Environment for Visualizing Images):image analysis software is used by GIS professionals, remote
sensing scientists, and image analysts

• MapInfo –MapInfo Professional and MapXtreme. integrates GIS software, data and services.
Overview to commercial GIS software’s
• MapPoint –GIS product developed by Microsoft.

• Caliper –Maptitude, TransCAD and TransModeler for transportation.

• CARIS (Computer Aided Resource Information System) for hydrography and cadastral systems.

• GMS – Three-dimensional environment for building geologic and groundwater models

• TatukGIS – Products include a GIS development toolkit, Internet Map Server, GIS Editor, free GIS
Viewer, Aerial Imagery Corrector.

• Axpand –cartography product by Axes Systems for data import/export, automatic generalization,
visualization andon-screen editing, pre-print configuration.

• Global Mapper (Blue Marble), MapViewer and Surfer (Golden Software),

Overview to commercial GIS software
ArcGIS (Esri)
 ArcGIS 9.x Esri busted onto the geospatial scene in the 1970s.
 They’ve pulled ahead as being the market leader in commercial GIS software and hasn’t
looked back since.
 The fine-tuned Esri ArcGIS is the most innovative, cutting-edge GIS software in the
industry.
 When you look at the amazing features in the whole ArcGIS suite, it begins to make sense
why they are so good at what they do.
 3D interface(ArcGlobe and ArcScene)
 They’ve perfected automatic map production with data-driven pages, ultimately saving
you time and money.
Open Source Software

Very broadly speaking, open source is “the right to copy, modify, and redistribute the source code to a
program”
In Open source software:
‒ The source code and executable file (software) freely available and is licensed
‒ It can be freely distributed and modified
Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the
copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its
source code to anyone and for any purpose.
Open Source Initiative (OSI)definition of open source
1. Free Redistribution
2. Source Code

3. Derived Works
4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code

5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups

6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor

7. Distribution of License
8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product

9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software

10.License Must Be Technology-Neutral
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1. Free Redistribution
•The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away
the software
‒ As a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from
several different sources
•The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
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2. Source Code
•The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as
compiled form.
•Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized
means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, preferably
downloading via the Internet without charge.
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•The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program.
 Deliberately unclear source code is not allowed.
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0

3. Derived Works
•The license

–Must allow modifications and derived works, and

–Must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original

software.
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4. Integrity of The Author’s Source Code

•The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in
modified form only if the license allows the distribution of “patch files”
with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time.
•The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code.
•The license may require derived works to carry a different name or
version number from the original software.
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5. No Discrimination Against
•Persons or Groups
–The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
•Fields of Endeavor
–The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of
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–For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being
used for genetic research.

6. Distribution of License

•The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is

redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
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9. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product

•The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program’s

being part of a particular software distribution.

•If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the

program’s license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as
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those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.

10.License Must Not Restrict Other Software

•The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with

the licensed software.

•For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same
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medium must be open-source software.

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10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral

•No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual

technology or style of interface.

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 Overview of open source GIS software’s categories
• GRASS –U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, open source: a complete GIS

• MapServer – Web-based mapping server, by the University of Minnesota.

• Chameleon – Environments for building applications with MapServer.

• GeoNetwork open source – A catalog application to manage spatially referenced resources

• ILWIS (Integrated Land and Water Information System) integrates image, vector and thematic data.

• MapWindow GIS – Free, open source GIS desktop application and programming component.

• PostGIS – Spatial extensions for the open source PostgreSQL database, allowing geospatial queries.

• TerraView – GIS desktop that handles vector and raster data stored in a relational or geo-relational
database.

• QGIS

• Mapbender, OpenLayers, GeoServer, MySQL Spatial, PostGIS , Mysql , Postgresql

FREE* GIS •Open-source is built on the principle that
‒The source code of a program should be readily
accessible, so that users have the right to maintain,
adapt and improve the software they use in any way
they see fit.

•Linux, Firefox, chrome and Wikipedia are just its success

stories, and there are too many in number to count.

*SERIOUSLY
Unit Two: Historical Development Open source GIS
• The advent of digital mapping and geospatial information systems (GIS) has completely changed
the way humans think about and interact with the world around them.
• The concept of overlapping discrete layers of location information for decision-making was first
introduced by Ian McHarg, a landscape architect, in the 1960s.
• Around the same time, Roger Tomlinson known universally as the Father of GIS
• Roger then worked to create the first computerized GIS, the Canada Geographic Information
System, which was used primarily for surveying.
• The roots of open source GIS can be traced back to the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1978.
• Since then, open source GIS has permeated many industries, both government, and commercial,
and has naturally had a different trajectory and impact than its proprietary, license-based
counterpart.
• The U.S. Department of Labor named geospatial technology as one of the top three most
important high-growth industries in the 21st century.
Cont.
• The evolution of open source GIS over the past four decades has lead to its many
groundbreaking and impactful applications today.

The Beginnings of GIS: MOSS and GRASS

• In 1978, the U.S. Department of the Interior created the Map Overlay and Statistical System
(MOSS).
• MOSS was created for the purpose of tracking and evaluating the impact of mine
development on the environment, wildlife and migration patterns
• It was the first broadly deployed, vector based, interactive GIS, as well as the first GIS to be
deployed for production use on minicomputers.
• GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) followed shortly thereafter, with more
than 350 modules for processing raster, topological vector, image processing and graphic data.
Cont.
• The software was originally created for use by the U.S. military to aid in land management and
environmental planning.
• GRASS is widely used today in both scientific and commercial settings for geospatial data
management and analysis, image processing, spatial and temporal temporal modeling and the
creation of graphics and maps.
Cont.
In the Early time:
• Computers were big
• There was no sharing and accessing of data and software through internet,
instead by Magnetic caset.
• In 2006 OSGEO (open source geospatial consortium) was founded, an
umbrella for the foundation of varies OSGIS.
• With the advent of civil internet a serious of new software projects have been
established and developed.
Cont
 Free and Open Source Software(FOSS)
 Today the question is no longer if FOSS/FOSS4G are mature or capable, but how to take
advantage of their features and development philosophy to deliver the systems and geospatial
information demanded by citizens, businesses, governments, educators and researchers around
the world.
 For almost every geospatial software need and niche (e.g. desktop GIS, spatial extensions to
Database Management Systems, WebGIS, code libraries, etc...) there is at least one mature
FOSS4G project with a well-documented record of successful application in diverse contexts
 Though findings are varied as to the strengths and weaknesses of FOSS/FOSS4G for specific
contexts and purposes , today it is clear that FOSS/FOSS4G not only
 provide healthy competition for private/close solutions but also opportunities for mutual benefit
and complementarity.
1. FOSS GIS
• Open Source software is gaining ground in the GIS software business.
• The scientific community is coming together to use, create, and enhance open source GIS tools.
• The development of open source GIS is usually driven by very active communities closely
collaborating with different university-level institutions and thus oriented to concrete solutions,
e.g. in environmental science or modeling and on technological improvements.
• Besides that, most open source software is available for free and the users can benefit from the availability
and transparency of the open source (program) code,
• The code has adapted for specific consumer needs and can again be shared within the community.
• Furthermore, open source software becomes more and more platform-independent and integrative
between various projects, libraries, and standards.
Cont.
Some of the software that exists for open source GIS includes:
• the System for Automated Geoscientific Analysis (SAGA,http://www.saga-gis.org),
• the Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS,http://grass.osgeo.org),
• GRASS is more advanced in terms of its inherent spatial analytical ability especially for
raster data, programming knowledge is of advantage for more sophisticated analysis and
script automation.
• Quantum GIS (QGIS, http://www.qgis.org/).
• QGIS is based on an intuitive mapping interface with optional plugins (supplementary
program code providing additional functionalities, similar to ESRI ArcGIS extensions) for
geoprocessing, analysis, and interoperability with various other software, standards, and
data types.
Cont.
• The integration of GRASS applications in QGIS through a plugin has a long tradition in the
QGIS history, meaning that one can benefit from the strengths of both systems at once.
• Furthermore, the latest releases of QGIS provide a toolbox called “SEXTANTE”
(http://www.sextantegis.com) where various Open Source software and libraries like SAGA
can be accessed through the straightforward user interface of QGIS.
• For further information about open source GIS software and the different projects
mentioned above see the Open Source Geospatial Foundation
website http://www.osgeo.org
Community of open source software

Programmers, users, …
The strength of an open source project comes from a strong community of users
Community members participate by
‒ Providing programming help,
‒ Writing documentation, and
‒ Translation service
‒ By providing feedback to improve the program
Reason for the free contributions
Under the open source model, software and its source code is
freely shared.
This allows a community of programmers to form around the original creator of a project to
create a collaborative social structure where contributors modify code to add improvements
and fix bugs.
Programmers make these contributions of their own free will for a
variety of reasons, such as:
Gaining recognition within the FOSS community,
Improving the software for their own purposes,
Improving their technical skills,
Improving the software for the benefit of others,
Open source Vs Free software

While all open source software is free, not all free software is open source.

Software that is freely distributed but is copyrighted (thus denying the right to copy the

software and modify the code) is not considered FOSS.

Open source code is an essential requirement for software freedom, a technical

prerequisite.

•Software freedom is the goal; open source is the means to that goal.
 2. Commercial off-the-shelf(COTS) GIS - ArcGIS

• One of the most well-established and popular GIS programs is ESRI’s ArcGIS suite.
• ArcGIS was established in 1969 originally as a research group focused on land use planning
initiatives (ESRI, 2013).
• Since then, ArcGIS has grown exponentially and is now the leading commercial GIS software
• it incorporates mobile, desktop, server, and online platforms.
• Until recently, the license levels in ArcGIS were organized by the naming scheme ArcView,
ArcEditor, and ArcInfo
• which denoted the amount of access to tools and functionalities within the software.
• Now, the different levels are called Basic, Standard, and Advanced, respectively, to make the
license levels more intuitive.
Cont.
• The Basic level allows access to mapping and interactive visualization functionalities,
• The Standard level offers those as well as multiuser editing and advanced data management, and
• The Advanced level offers all of the above, plus, advanced analysis, high-end cartography, and
extensive database management possibilities (ESRI, 2013).
• These different levels allow the buyer to choose the package that fits their needs.
• Also, you can add extensions such as Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst, and Geostatistical Analyst, which
are sets of tools for specific tasks (ESRI, 2013).
• Extensions allow the user to add more advanced functions without the need for upgrading to a
different license.
• However, one major problem with ArcGIS and other ESRI products are costs. It is costly.
• only be afforded by large corporations, universities, and government agencies.
• Students or research groups can often acquire versions for free, or at reduced costs, respectively.
Cont…

• The price is deterrent when a company or individual is choosing which GIS

software to purchase.
• Free trials are also available from
http://www.ESRI.com/software/arcgis/arcgis-for-desktop/free-trial.

• Various online training courses (http://training.esri.com/),

• Tutorials(http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#//00qn0000
013t000000),
• Other resources (http://resources.arcgis.com/en/home/) are available online to
help with specific tasks
Concerns and Myths about FOSS/FOSS4G

 “Wheatley (2004) provides examples that help dispel the following myths:

 “The principal attraction is its no-cost”

 “The savings are not real”
 “There is no tech support”
 “It is not for mission-critical applications”
 “FOSS is not ready for the desktop”
 “It can’t be that good if it is free”
 “It is difficult to learn”
 “It is only for programmer/developers”
 “ There are no learning materials or books about them”.
FOSS/FOSS4G should be evaluated at par with commercial private/closed
software in terms of:

 Their technical features;

 Reliability;
 Ease of use;
 Documentation;
 Technical support;
 Customizability and extensibility;
 Costs of training;
 Support and maintenance; and
 Management requirements (e.g. budget, in-house development team expertise, long-term
maintainability).
Open source GIS Vs proprietary Software
 Open source or Non-Commercial GIS Products
There are two types of open software:
A. Project/Community open source
 is developed and managed by a distributed community of developers who cooperatively
improve and support the source code without remuneration.
 These projects may be copyrighted by the contributors directly but larger projects are typically
run by non-profit foundations.
 Well-known examples of community open source projects are Eg. Linux and Apache Web
Server.
Apache is server used for everything from personal web pages to enterprise level sites
B. Commercial Open Source Software, or COSS,
 is distinguished by open source software of which the full copyright, patents and trademarks
are controlled by a single entity.
 The owner only accepts code contributions if the contributor transfers copyright of the code to
this entity.
 They may distribute their software for free or a fee.
 Their business model typically includes revenue from providing technical support and consulting
services.
Cont.
2.4.1.1 Pros and Cons of Open source GIS Infrastructure
A. Pros
• Easy to start with. If you're starting a small company, a private venture, or even a project within a
large company, you'll appreciate the ability to be able to freely experiment with technologies
without paying any royalties.
• Community support. Perhaps the greatest FOSS(Free and open source software) advantage.
There's virtually no question regarding popular open source project that haven't got a profound
answer in the web. For the undocumented questions, you'll probably get an answer within 24
hours in a professional forum.
• Scalability.
• Trying before implementing. If you want to convert a software component to a different
infrastructure, technology or environment, you can have a free sandbox to play with before
converting, and you can always go back.
• This allows priceless experience with cutting-edge technologies without the financial risks
involved with trying new pricy products.
• Easy to port.. When your data is kept in open formats, translating from one data type to
another is straight forward, and there is probably a piece of software that does exactly that.
Figuring out closed format is a truly dantesque experience
Cont.

• Maximal Control. Open source software allows extensive configurability, which means that
you can fine-tune the product to your exact needs. For niche demands, hiring a software
developer to change the product will be considerably cheaper than paying a software
company for changing the product (and they probably.
• Attracts better developers. Without starting a flame war, Open Source software developers
seem to better perform, be more independent, productive and curious than developers
under proprietary software infrastructure.
• Great web tools. There's a plethora of web-oriented open source tools: mapping, tiles,
databases, webservers, web framework and web authoring tools. Buidling your first GIS
website will be very easy
Cont.
B. Cons
• Too many projects. There are many open source projects for every niche, and you'll have to
spend some tome picking the best one, because other will be abandoned.
• Probably no technical support or SLA, Unless you pay a consultant
• GUI tools are of inferior quality. This is probably because software developers are familiar
with command-line tools, and there are not enough open source GUI designers. The resulting
GUI (e.g., GRASS GIS) is often slow, ugly, and have counterintuitive interface.
• Mostly Linux based software. Windows Open Source software tools have gone a long way in
the past years, but the best-of-breed software is almost always in the Linux world.

• Reduced Competitive Advantage

Cont….
• Minimal Support Leverage
 Large open source projects have a vast, supportive community that provides documentation, tools and
support systems to back up users of the software.
 Free support is not always the fastest support

Usability
 Open source projects, even COSS, are complex packages of software that are not as closely
aimed at markets of unskilled end users as is much proprietary software.
 Unskilled users will never look at the source code let alone compile it.
Cont…

Cons and Pros of Proprietary GIS Infrastructure

A.Pros
• Specification - Proprietary software tend to come with an well-written spec. and SLA(software
License Agreement) papers.
• ArcGIS - industry standard. ArcGIS, the most popular non-free GIS infrastructure, tend to be an
industry standard.
• Better GUI. Nearly always.
• MS-Windows friendly. Most of the users, and many developers, will consider this as an
advantage.
• Support. If you're going to pay for it, you'll probably get good telephone support from the vendor.
Cont.
• Usability
 Commercial, proprietary products are typically designed with a smaller scope of features and
abilities.
 They are focused on a narrower market of end users than those products developed within
open source communities
• Product Stability
 Proprietary software vendors must, if they are to survive, maintain tight control of their product
roadmap.
 Their products are designed from the start to nurture a long and prosperous future with many
paid upgrades along the way
Cont…
B. Cons
 Apart of the aforementioned disadvantages (cost, difficult scalability, restrictions, allows little or
no trial period and customizable):
• Cost tend to pile up.
 When you need an extra software component that would fit to your existing infrastructure, it's
probably going to cost you a lot more.
• Dependency
 Customers of closed source software companies are more or less at the whim of where their
software supplier wants to take them
• Software Opacity(ambiguity)
 By definition, the internals of closed source software are closed to viewing.
 Users of this software are unable to modify the code let alone debug(repair) it effectively.
 They are only able to supply error codes, messages and dump stacks to the vendor and wait for a
fix if there is no existing workaround or patch.
 Therefore, it is usually more difficult for customers to make customizations or optimizations in
their final product.
The evaluation of FOSS4G also should include the following questions

• Is the software well documented?

• Is it clear who the core development team is?
• Is the software modular?
• How wide is development community?
• How wide is the user community?
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FOSS4G Resources and Education

 There is an increasing number of commercial support services, on-line tutorials, books, and
education resources to help FOSS/FOSS4G users to choose the right software and use it.
(Holck et al. 2005, Woods and Guliani 2005, Ven et al. 2008,
 The FOSS Evaluation Center
http://foss.technologyevaluation.com/
 OpenGeo
http://opengeo.org/products/suite/
 OSGeo Education and Curriculum
http://www.osgeo.org/education
http://www.osgeo.org/educational_content
 OSGeo Live
http://live.osgeo.org/es/index.html

 ELOGeo platform
http://elogeo.nottingham.ac.uk/
Mature popular FOSS4G

1.Desktop GIS:

 KOSMO (http://www.opengis.es/)
 gvSIG (http://www.gvsig.com)
 uDig (http://udig.refractions.net/)
 Quantum GIS (QGIS) (http://www.qgis.org/)
 GRASS (http://grass.osgeo.org/)

2. Remote Sensing:

 ImageJ (http://rsbweb.nih.gov/ij/)
 OSSIM (www.ossim.org)

 OpenEV (http://openev.sourceforge.net/)

 ILWIS Open (http://52north.org/)

 Opticks (http://opticks.org/confluence/display/opticks/Welco

me+To+Opticks)
Mature popular FOSS4G

3. Web GIS servers and clients:

SERVERS:
 MapServer (http://mapserver.org/)
 GeoServer (http://geoserver.org/display/GEOS/Welcome)
• MapGuide Open Source (http://mapguide.osgeo.org/)

CLIENTS:
 OpenLayers (http://openlayers.org/)
 Mapfish (http://mapfish.org/)

4. Database Management Systems with Spatial Extensions

• PostGIS (http://postgis.refractions.net/) extension for PostgreSQL.
• MySQL Spatial Extensions
• GearScape (http://www.fergonco.es/gearscape/)
5. Code Libraries
• STARS (Space-Time Analysis of Regional Systems)
(http://regionalanalysislab.org/index.php/Main/STARS)

• PySAL (http://geodacenter.asu.edu/projects/pysal)

6. Virtual Globes
• NASA World Wind: (http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/download.html)

• ossimPlanet: (http://www.ossim.org/OSSIM/ossimPlanet.html)

7. Tools for visualization and analysis.

• ParaView (http://www.paraview.org/)
Who uses Open Source

Governmental organizations
NGO
Private companies
Researchers
Academic institutes
Check points of the chapters
1. Who is the responsible body for any risk in the open source project?
2. Describe other commercial software and compare with ArcGIS of ESRI products.
3. Why programmers contribute in open source projects?
4. Does the term commercial is equivalent with proprietary?
5. Explain the key differences between Free and open source software.
6. Explain the advantages of open source software over closed software
7. What is meant by one trick pony software?
8. Open source software are becoming more and more platform-independent. Explain what this concept means.
9. Compare and contrast the three architectural components of ArcGIS and QGIS(graphical user interface, tools, data management
system)
Assignment
1. Identify three open source GIS software and discuss each software’s feature? What makes each unique
(different from the other)?
2. Discus the main advantage and disadvantages of using the most popular ESRI products ArcGIS software's
;and Open source software's such as ILWIS/QGIS.
3. Evaluating the three components(tools, GUI and data management) of open source GIS software(QGIS).
4. Is it possible for commercial software vendors to use open source products?
5. Discuss The Open Source Geospatial Foundation.
6. It is obvious that open source software becomes more and more platform-independent. Explain what
platform independent mean
7. Why programmers contribute in open source projects?
8. One of the advantage of open source GIS software is Scalability. Explain in brief what this concept.
9. What are the strengths and weakness of Free and OSS?