Open Source GISTechnology overview

Presented by Aaron Racicot – GIS Programmer

aaronr@ecotrust.org February 8, 2006

Outline Introduction Benefits/Limitations of Open Source Technology Overview - Platforms

Desktop Server Embedded devices

Workflows of interest Cartography - Desktop “paper map”

publishing Cartography - Web map publishing Modeling - Web-Based real-time decision

support

Where is it all going? Where to go for more info

Who am I…B.S. Computer B.S. Computer

ScienceScience

Split Personality

Environmental advocate

Telemark/BC SkierRafting Guide Portland Mountain

Rescue

M.S. Environmental M.S. Environmental ScienceScience

Open Source advocateOpen Source

User/DeveloperEmbedded systems

developerGIS Programmer

Ecotrust - Salmon Nation

Why Open Source?

“Free software” is a matter of liberty, not price.

Free Software!

Freedom

Four basic freedoms (The Free Software Foundation)

The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.

The freedom to study how the program works,

and adapt

it to your needs. Access to the source code is a precondition

for this.

The freedom to redistribute copies so you can

help your

neighbor.

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.

Benefits/Limitations of Open Source

Benefits Software cost = $0 Source code is available and modifiable User and development communities flourish Development cycles are VERY fast

Limitations Total cost is NOT = $0 Many applications are not as polished as the

proprietary counterparts Compatibility with proprietary software can be an

issue

Software Stacks… Desktop

Generic Stack FOSS4G Stack Grouping

Application QGis, Grass, OSSIM, JUMP, UDig

User Interface

Application Dev. Environment

Eclipse, QT, OpenGL

High Level Utilities GeoTools, PostGIS Data Serving

High Level Scripting Languages

PHP, PERL, Python

Low Level Utilities Shplib, GEOS, OGR/GDAL, PostGIS, R-Statistics, GMT

Data Processing

Low Level Languages

C, C++, Java, Fortran System Software

Operating System

Linux, Darwin, Cygwin

Hardware Drivers

32-64 bit processor drivers

Desktop Software Stack

OS GIS – Desktop Applications

GRASS GIS

Software Stacks... Server

Server Software StackGeneric Stack FOSS4G Stack Grouping

Client Side Browser Firefox, Safari, Netscape User Interface

Client Side Scripting

Java Script, Java Applets

~~~~~~~~~~~WEB~~~~~~~~~~~

Server Side Scripting

PHP, Python, PERL Data Serving

High Level Utilities Mapserver, PCO, Grass

Low Level Utilities Shplib, GEOS, OGR/GDAL, PostGIS, R-Statistics, GMT

Data Processing

High Level Scripting Languages

PHP, PERL, Python

Low Level Languages

C, C++, Java, Fortran System Software

Operating System/Drivers

Linux, Darwin, Cygwin

Hardware Drivers 32-64 bit processor drivers

OS GIS - Server Tools

GRASS GIS

GDAL/OGR

R-Statistics

OS GIS

Important considerations Platform support (i.e. UNIX, Linux, Windows, Mac OS) Speed and efficiency Data format support Standards for interoperability (OGC specs)

Areas for improvement Separate packages all with their own strengths Linking them together is often hard Write support is often not supported for proprietary formats Ability to integrate into proprietary systems is limited (i.e.

can not link PostGIS database to ArcMap…yet) Requires multiple installs and maintenance User interfaces are often the last part of development Harder to produce traditional “paper maps”

Alternatives!

ArcReader

ArcMap/ArcGIS

ArcINFO/ArcGRID

ArcPad

ArcSDE

ArcIMS

ArcGIS Server

VB, Python

UDig,Jump,GRASS,QGis,OSSIM

UDig,Jump,GRASS,QGis,OSSIM

GRASS, OSSIM

????

PostGIS

Mapserver

GRASS

PHP, Python, Perl, C#.net, etc…

Viewing

Cartography

Analysis

Devices

Database

Web

Spatial Server

Scripting

Workflows of Interest

Most GIS applications have a similar work flow pattern…

Gather spatially explicit data

Process that data to suit the user

needs

Produce outputs useful to the end

user

Work Flow – Paper Map Publishing

Data Gathering

Data Formatting

Data Processing

Map Formatting

Map Production

User Request

User Response

Work Flow – What OSGIS is good at

Data Gathering

Data Formatting

Data Processing

Map Formatting

Map Production

User Request

User Response

Great at data processing but

poor at formatting and creating paper maps

Paper Map Publishing

Example – Paper Map Publishing QGIS ArcMap

Work Flow – Web Map Publishing

Map Formatting

Map Production

Web User Request

Web User Response

StaticData Storage

WebService

s

Work Flow – What OSGIS is good at

Map Formatting

Map Production

Web User Request

Web User Response

StaticData Storage

WebService

s

Great at all aspects of traditional web-based

mapping

Web Map Publishing

Examples – Web Map Publishing

CustomDHTML/JavaScript

Chameleon

Examples – Web Map Publishing

Ka-MapDM Solutions

Cartoweb3CampToCamp

Work Flow – Real-Time Web DST

Web User Request

Web User Response

StaticData Storage

WebService

sData Gathering

Data Formatting

Data Processing

Map Formatting

Map Production

Real-Time Web Decision Support Tools

Work Flow – What OSGIS is good at

Web User Request

Web User Response

StaticData Storage

WebService

sData Gathering

Data Formatting

Data Processing

Map Formatting

Map Production

The Problem Is The Arrows! Connecting a web request to server side GIS analysis is tricky

Real-Time Web Decision Support Tools

Example – Real-Time Web DSTSiuslaw Watershed Restoration Initiative

Work Flow – Real-Time Web DST

Data Gathering

Data Formatting

Data Processing

GRASS

Mapserver

Mapserver on the front end… GRASS on the back end…

Example – OSGIS in use…

QGIS and GRASS as a desktop supplement QT as an desktop application framework PostGIS to store vector data layers Mapserver as a web-based front end Chameleon Interface as a client side web

interface GRASS as a server side GIS for DST

development OGR/GDAL to pre-process vector and raster

data R-Statistics and GMT for graphing and

statistics

Example - OCEANSystem

Chameleon

Mapserver

R-StatisticsUser driven… Web interactive tools… GIS analytical computing…

PostGIS GRASS

Ecotrust Example - OCEANSystem

QGIS/GRASS

Where is it all going?

• Integration of OS software across organizations

• “Google” type interfaces (smooth user experience)– AJAX driven– Streaming media– Seamless datasets

• Large datasets require more pre-processing• Pressure on large private companies to

become more responsive to end user needs• Integration of OSGIS with proprietary

software – required for migration path…• Start of services based business…

The Future of OSGIS

QGIS/GRASSGIS

Web-BasedMapserver

R-StatisticsGMT

Fully Integrated Open-Source GISQGIS/GRASS GIS – Fully

functional server GIS doing the heavy lifting.

UMN Mapserver – Making data accessible via the web. Geo-spatial server viewed through a web browser. Taking our vision to a growing audience.

Adding the analytical glue to make smart decisions based upon sound GIS analysis.

Making GIS analysis

accessible and affordable

Where to go for more info

OSGIS Maptools - http://www.maptools.org FreeGIS - http://freegis.org/ Open Source GIS - http://opensourcegis.org/

Standards OGC - http://www.opengeospatial.org/

Desktop GRASS - http://grass.itc.it/ QGIS - http://qgis.org/ UDIG - http://udig.refractions.net/confluence/display/UDIG/Home JUMP – http://jump-project.org/ OpenEV - http://openev.sourceforge.net/

Server/Web Mapserver - http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/ GRASS - http://grass.itc.it/ PostGIS - http://postgis.refractions.net/

Tools Remote Sensing - http://remotesensing.org/tiki-index.php GDAL/OGR - http://gdal.maptools.org/index.html PROJ.4 - http://proj.maptools.org/

The End

Tool Screen Shots Follow

Backup - GRASS

Backup - QGIS

Backup - OSSIM

Backup - UDIG

Backup - JUMP

Backup – R-Statistics

Backup – PostGIS

Geometry

WKT Geometry