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On the User Friendliness of Open Source Geospatial Software
posted by Satri
on Thursday May 28, @09:18AM
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from the come-and-shake-my-hand dept.
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This is an extract from a personal email. It's obviously very incomplete and you are welcomed to share additions and corrections in comments below. The context is a discussion about the user-friendliness of today's open source geospatial software. Here below you'll find direct links to screenshots of popular OSS software, all previously mentioned on the site (see related stories below).
"You are absolutely right with saying that documentation and user-friendliness has not been a strength of geospatial open source software in the past, but that has significantly changed in recent years and is still evolving very rapidly. Before I give a list of examples of the top of my head (experts could provide even more insights), I'd like to focus on this: sharing information and knowledge is the key here. Even if the benefits of open source geospatial software can surpasses its inconveniences for many applications, stakeholders must be aware of all the opportunities available to make the best technology choice possible otherwise people just stick with what they know, even if it's not the best solution.
Examples of some open source geospatial software that are now "user friendly":
** GIS:
* Quantum GIS can be considered quite user-friendly. It is far from being as full featured as ArcGIS, but can do surprisingly a lot, especially with the GRASS GIS plugin that unleashes serious geoprocessing power within the QGIS graphical user interface.
* There are plenty of other open source GIS that have good graphical user interfaces: uDig, OpenJump, gvSIG and several others.
** Web mapping:
* Autodesk's MapGuide Open Source also have map authoring tools such as Maestro and Fusion.
* OpenLayers.org while one can simply copy existing examples, there's OpenLayers Architect and LiziLayers that offers enhanced WYSIWYG capabilities.
* The MapFish.org framework also a Studio too now.
* You can even generate web maps directly from within the Quantum GIS interface.
** Other:
* Several other open source geospatial software can be considered quite user-friendly for what they do (e.g. GeoServer). Others, such as PostGIS (GUI tool), are probably as 'user-friendly' as other spatial RDBMS are. Even OpenStreetMap has a feature-rich GUI for editing maps.
This list is obviously incomplete (I'm still no expert! ;-), but I hope it does convince you that open source geospatial has come a long way in the recent years and is continuing to improve at a crazy rate. That said, yes, advanced proprietary software is still very appropriate (even required!) for some applications, it really depends on what you want to do! But one must also be aware of all the options at hand."
"You are absolutely right with saying that documentation and user-friendliness has not been a strength of geospatial open source software in the past, but that has significantly changed in recent years and is still evolving very rapidly. Before I give a list of examples of the top of my head (experts could provide even more insights), I'd like to focus on this: sharing information and knowledge is the key here. Even if the benefits of open source geospatial software can surpasses its inconveniences for many applications, stakeholders must be aware of all the opportunities available to make the best technology choice possible otherwise people just stick with what they know, even if it's not the best solution.
Examples of some open source geospatial software that are now "user friendly":
** GIS:
* Quantum GIS can be considered quite user-friendly. It is far from being as full featured as ArcGIS, but can do surprisingly a lot, especially with the GRASS GIS plugin that unleashes serious geoprocessing power within the QGIS graphical user interface.
* There are plenty of other open source GIS that have good graphical user interfaces: uDig, OpenJump, gvSIG and several others.
** Web mapping:
* Autodesk's MapGuide Open Source also have map authoring tools such as Maestro and Fusion.
* OpenLayers.org while one can simply copy existing examples, there's OpenLayers Architect and LiziLayers that offers enhanced WYSIWYG capabilities.
* The MapFish.org framework also a Studio too now.
* You can even generate web maps directly from within the Quantum GIS interface.
** Other:
* Several other open source geospatial software can be considered quite user-friendly for what they do (e.g. GeoServer). Others, such as PostGIS (GUI tool), are probably as 'user-friendly' as other spatial RDBMS are. Even OpenStreetMap has a feature-rich GUI for editing maps.
This list is obviously incomplete (I'm still no expert! ;-), but I hope it does convince you that open source geospatial has come a long way in the recent years and is continuing to improve at a crazy rate. That said, yes, advanced proprietary software is still very appropriate (even required!) for some applications, it really depends on what you want to do! But one must also be aware of all the options at hand."
Related Stories
Technology: gvSIG 1.1 Released
[+]
The open source GIS gvSIG 1.1 has been recently announced. All Points Blog explains the buzz around gvSIG: "- The team includes two rather large main contractors and a host of smaller ones. There are also volunteers. That's about 40 developers, with total staff (including management) at about 70-80.
- The current funding includes E12 million that runs from 2007 until 2013.
- There are 1000 subscribers on the project list, and the project has been downloaded 70,000 times.
- The plan for success included the idea of starting small, proving the result worked and growing the project from there. The guiding principle is "we have to share knowledge" and the group is anxious to show the success of this new model for collaboration." See below for previous gvSIG coverage.
PostGIS 1.3.2 Released
[+]
The PostGIS/Refractions web site announces: "The 1.3.2 release of PostGIS is now available". This release includes bug fixes and some minor feature enhancements, such as improvements in the TIGER geocoder, fix for better OS/X support, fix to WKB parser to do simple validity checks, etc.
Technology: JGrass in Leap Year PreAlpha
[+]
moovida writes "Since many asked for it, the JGrass team finally releases
a prealpha JGrass package. This is the first touchable result of a long
time of heavy development to migrate the old JGrass functionalities
into the new udig framework. Also the new website and trackers, based on the
Savane engine, are on their first run at the Free
Software Center. If this release has been possible, then only
throught the great uDig
community that accepted us and gave us every needed help. Hat off to
Refractions and its developers. Welcome to the new JGrass prealpha, the leap year edition!!" JGrass is "[...] a free, multi platform, open source GIS based on the famous GIS Grass [...]"
See also previous stories below.
Technology: GRASS GIS 6.3.0 Released and Includes Microsoft Windows Support
[+]
The GRASS GIS team announced the release of GRASS GIS 6.3.0. From the announcement: "Officially this is a "technology preview" release, the first beta on the path to GRASS 6.4-stable, and it also marks the start of work on GRASS 7. As such GRASS 6.3.0 is not intended to be a stable release with ongoing support, but after five months of quality-assurance review we are very pleased with the results. Users can be confident to use this version for their day to day work, indeed due to the open development model many already do.
Besides the hundreds of new module features, supported data formats, and language translations, GRASS 6.3 brings a number of exciting enhancements to the GIS. A prototype of the new wxPython user interface is debuted, and for the first time since its inception with a port from the VAX 11/780 in 1983, GRASS will run on a non-UNIX based platform: MS-Windows. This is currently still in an experimental state and we hope that widespread testing of 6.3.0 will mean the 6.4 release of WinGRASS will be fully functional and robust. Existing UNIX and Mac users will be happy to know that these new features do not disrupt the base GIS which remains as solid as ever and fully backwards compatible with earlier GRASS 6.0 and GRASS 6.2 releases." See also related stories below.
Besides the hundreds of new module features, supported data formats, and language translations, GRASS 6.3 brings a number of exciting enhancements to the GIS. A prototype of the new wxPython user interface is debuted, and for the first time since its inception with a port from the VAX 11/780 in 1983, GRASS will run on a non-UNIX based platform: MS-Windows. This is currently still in an experimental state and we hope that widespread testing of 6.3.0 will mean the 6.4 release of WinGRASS will be fully functional and robust. Existing UNIX and Mac users will be happy to know that these new features do not disrupt the base GIS which remains as solid as ever and fully backwards compatible with earlier GRASS 6.0 and GRASS 6.2 releases." See also related stories below.
Technology: MapGuide Open Source 2.0.2 Released and LiveCD
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From their announcement mailing list, "The MapGuide Open Source project team is pleased to make MapGuide Open Source 2.0.2 available. This release contains support for Firefox 3, bug fixes, rendering fixes and updated FDO DLLs. For the complete list of fixes please see the release notes ". They also released a LiveCD: "Autodesk and Camptocamp have created this LiveCD to ease your first steps with MapGuide Open Source. When you boot your computer with this CD you get a working MapGuide Open Source server, complete with the MapGuide Maestro authoring tool, code samples, and demo datasets.
To download the CD, go to the Related Links page."
Recent coverage in the geoblogs includes Autodesk's Geoff Zeiss on MapGuide at Oracle Open World.
Technology: OpenLayers 2.7 Released
[+]
It seems OpenLayers 2.7 has been released. Here are the release notes.
From the announcement: "As of this final release, the OpenLayers 2.7 release closes 201 outstanding tickets. [...] This release features a number of major developments, including:
* Vector-Behavior: Strategies, Protocols, Filters
* Improved Vector rendering for better performance
* Canvas rendering class
* Z-Ordering and Y-Ordering for Vector layers
* New Basic Measurement Control
* New OpenLayers.Request interface for AJAX
* Smarter Popups ... and tons of other new features and bug fixes that you can see detailed here.
Furthermore, we are proud to announce two new additions to the AddIns directory! Yes, it is an exciting day for everyone in the OpenLayers Community. Please take the time to check out:
* Bookmark Control -- Allows user a simple way to 'bookmark' locations on the map and navigate to them. * Loading Panel -- Provides a convenient and sexy animated status monitor so users know their layers are loading. We even have a nice new UML Diagram to help people out with understanding the new classes in 2.7 and their relationships." See also previous OpenLayers stories below.
Furthermore, we are proud to announce two new additions to the AddIns directory! Yes, it is an exciting day for everyone in the OpenLayers Community. Please take the time to check out:
* Bookmark Control -- Allows user a simple way to 'bookmark' locations on the map and navigate to them. * Loading Panel -- Provides a convenient and sexy animated status monitor so users know their layers are loading. We even have a nice new UML Diagram to help people out with understanding the new classes in 2.7 and their relationships." See also previous OpenLayers stories below.
Technology: uDig 1.1.0 Released 1 comment
[+]
The How2Map blog informed us that after a long time in development, uDig 1.1.0 has been released. From the announcement: "New capabilities of uDig 1.1.0 include:
*
Enhance editing, including a complete framework to support the creation of new tools
*
Enhanced thematic styling; thanks to the ColorBrewer project for making some amazing palettes
*
Table View supporting the use of Common Query Language
*
A reshape operator that using CQL expressions to process features in an ad-hoc manner
*
Creation of new feature types for PostGIS and shapefile
*
Introduction of a Tasks based workflow, making use of data validation
*
Mac OS/X support"
See also the related stories below to find out about uDig news related to other projects.
Export your QGIS project to OpenLayers HTML
[+]
OGR2Layers Plugin detects any OGR supported data layer loaded into Quantum GIS, convert it to KML and write an OpenLayers HTML map including the KML overlay. The OpenLayers parameters like WMS base layer, default map extent and layerswitcher control can be configured from the plugin. Outputs KML can also be direcly loaded in Google Earth. See this web page for more information: http://ogr2layers.org/
OpenLayers add-on
[+]
LiziLayers allows you to create and test your OpenLayers scripts in an HTML page or a XUL window. LiziLayers is based on the add-on MozMapLayers which is an OpenLayers adaption to the XUL environment. See this web page for more information: http://3liz.org/lizilayers/co/01_homepage.html
Technology: Fusion 1.1.0 Released
[+]
The dont adjust your mind blog informs us Fusion 1.1.0 has been released.
This is important news for the MapGuide Open Source community and users.
From the announcement: "Fusion is a web-mapping application development framework for MapGuide OS
and MapServer built primarily in JavaScript. It allows non-spatial web
developers to build rich mapping applications quickly and easily. Using
widgets, developers are able to add, remove, or modify functionality using
standard-compliant HTML and CSS. Fusion does not require any proprietary
browser plug-ins and works in all the major browsers on Windows, Mac, and
Linux." The release notes, 60+ new features and bugs squashed, can be found here.
We mentioned Fusion before, see related stories below.
MapFish 1.1 Released
[+]
The MapFish team announced the release of the open source webmapping framework MapFish version 1.1.
The main new features from the official blog: "Server-side components:
- Rails plugin.
- printing of vector layers.
Client-side components:
- recenter widget.
- layer tree context menus.
- feature store.
- Google Earth/MapFish integration example.
- print action (print button in a toolbar).
The release's wiki page is accessible here."
See also previous MapFish stories below.
Studio is Born: Beta of the MapFish Manager
[+]
Cedric Moullet writes "Have a look at the MapFish blog to discover the new functionality of Studio."
The screencast quickly show what this is all about.
From the blog entry: "We are currently working on extending the capabilities of Studio and the goal is to offer three main components:
- A tool to manage the data sources
- A tool to manage and edit MapFiles
- A tool to generate MapFish sites, with view, edit, search and query capabilities."
See also previous MapFish stories below, including the MapFish 1.1 release last January.
Technology: New OpenJUMP 1.3 - Better Data Editing & Analysis
[+]
Stefan Steiniger writes "The OpenJUMP GIS core developer team is proud to announce the release of OpenJUMP 1.3. This new release focuses on better editing capabilities. For instance the user is now able to i) faster digitise polygons due to the new Auto-Complete Polygon tool, ii) to mark points of interest with the new Note Tool, or iii) compare different editing versions with the new Synchronize function that allows synchronized panning and zooming between two map windows that show different data.
OpenJUMP 1.3 has also new analysis functions that, for instance, allow to retrieve attribute statistics (min, max, mean, etc.) for the attributes of a layer, and to display maps using different data classification/colour theming methods. With OpenJUMP 1.3 raster image analysis can now be performed as well using the Sextante bindings. For advanced users it is of interest that the new OpenJUMP release has build-in support for Python (i.e. Jython) to add own functionality.
to download OpenJUMP 1.3 visit: http://www.openjump.org/ — or: http://sourceforge.net/projects/jump-pilot/"
GeoServer 2.0-alpha2 Released
[+]
mpumphrey writes "The GeoServer Team has released the newest alpha of GeoServer 2.0. This release contains, most notably, a new UI based on the Wicket framework, as well as a streamlined workflow and a updated data directory structure. You can try out this software at http://geoserver.org/display/GEOS/GeoServer+2.0-al pha2, and see screenshots here: http://blog.geoserver.org/2009/04/20/see-the-new-u i/"
Some related stories copied below.
Technology: GeoServer 1.7.4 Released 2 comments
[+]
mpumphrey writes "GeoServer 1.7.4 has been released. The fifth release of 1.7.x brings the following new features:
* WMS decorations
* Label conflict resolution can be turned off for selected labels
* Custom raster legends via GetLegendGraphic
* Tolerance of GetFeatureInfo is now configurable
* GetFeatureInfo observes the filters in the SLD
And much more. This release is based on GeoTools 2.5.5.
You can get GeoServer 1.7.4 here:
http://geoserver.org/display/GEOS/GeoServer+1.7.4" We recently mentioned the alpha version 2.0 of GeoServer.
* WMS decorations
* Label conflict resolution can be turned off for selected labels
* Custom raster legends via GetLegendGraphic
* Tolerance of GetFeatureInfo is now configurable
* GetFeatureInfo observes the filters in the SLD
And much more. This release is based on GeoTools 2.5.5.
You can get GeoServer 1.7.4 here:
http://geoserver.org/display/GEOS/GeoServer+1.7.4" We recently mentioned the alpha version 2.0 of GeoServer.
Technology: Technical Overview of OpenLayers
[+]
Despite we frequently mention OpenLayers here, some users might be interested by GeoWeb Guru's nice technical overview of OpenLayers.
The introduction: "OpenLayers is a popular open source JavaScript library for displaying dynamic map data in a web page. The OpenLayers library can work as the client half of an AJAX map application, including modern features such as "slippy" maps. Most if not all of the map data is provided by servers running other software.
OpenLayers supports a wide range of different map sources, making it a popular way to combine a wide range of different data types into one map."
See also related stories below.
Technology: QGIS 1.0.2 (stable) and 1.1.0 (unstable) Released
[+]
The QGIS team announced the availability of the open source GIS 'Quantum GIS' version 1.0.2 (stable) and 1.1.0 (unstable).
From the announcement: "Our 1.0.x 'stable' release series are part of our effort to provide a stable, unchanging, long term supported environment. Each minor release in our stable series contains only bug fixes and no new features. [...] Our 'unstable' release series are provided to offer users a chance to try out new features as they make their way into the code base. We will not support these releases over a long term and they are aimed more for those who value new features over stability."
See the previous QGIS stories below.
New Version of gvSIG Desktop Released: gvSIG 1.9
[+]
gvSIG 1.9 has been released, read more below to read the full announcement. GeoMusings shares a summary: "The new features in 1.9 are summarized here.
Some of the new features, including SLD import/export, are pretty interesting. gvSIG seems to be flourishing a bit under the wing of OSGEO." See also related stories below, we regularly mention gvSIG.
There's also an unofficial gvSIG Mobile 0.1.5 now available.
Technology: MapFish Starts the OSGeo Incubation Process
[+]
Cedric Moullet writes "The web 2.0 development framework MapFish will start the OSGEO incubation process. See this blog entry for more information." Part of that entry: " It's now an honour to be recognized on the OSGEO level, together with very well-established Open Source projects.
We face now some very interesting challenge like defining the exact content of MapFish, deciding about the license model and the copyright assignment, organizing the PSC and the governance etc, etc... But maybe, the biggest challenge will be to explain what is exactly MapFish and what are its benefits."
See also related stories below, MapFish was mentioned quite a few times.
Application Domains: gvSIG Mini for Java and Android Phones
[+]
Jorge Sanz writes "gvSIG Mini has been born. gvSIG Mini is a brand-new open-source project (GNU/GPL) aimed at cellular phones. It can access free maps based on tile services (OpenStreetMap, Yahoo, etc.), with WMS client, address searching, POIs, routing and more. It has been developed by Prodevelop (Spain). We are pleased to receive your comments, suggestions, contributions,... and are open to collaborate with anyone willing to use or modify this project, or work in similar ones. More information at http://gvsigmini.org/ or just point your devices to http://m.gvsigmini.org/ and give it a try!"
See also previous gvSIG stories below. By the way, gvSIG is now at version 1.9rc2.
Technology: MapFish 1.2 released !
[+]
Cedric Moullet writes "MapFish 1.2 has just been released !
Highlights are the ultra simplified installation procedure on Windows and Linux, a totally new website (http://www.mapfish.org), the integration of GeoExt 0.6, the support of Pylons 0.9.7 and Python 2.6, a client plug-in simplifying the creation of MapFish application and improvements of the MapFish protocol.
Don't miss the Quickstart: http://www.mapfish.org/doc/1.2/quickstart.html
Official announcement: http://trac.mapfish.org/trac/mapfish/wiki/Releases /1.2/Announcement"
See also below for previous related MapFish stories.
Technology: Quantum GIS (QGIS) 1.3.0 'Mimas' Released
[+]
Less than a month after 1.2.0, the QGIS team announced the release of version 1.3.0 of their popular open source GIS.
From the announcement: "We have removed the 'unstable' designation from our development release series because it creates the incorrect impression that these release are more likely to crash. The development releases are usually quite stable to run, but introduce new features and API additions which some people may wish to avoid. [...] This release includes over 30 bug fixes and enhancements over the QGIS 1.2.0 release. [...] Other notable features and improvements in this release
* Marker size is now configurable when editing a layer.
* Incorporation of the analysis library into the mainstream release.
* Identify features across multiple layers.
* Added a new plugin for carrying out raster terrain analysis (computing slope aspect, steepness etc).
* A reshape tool to apply to line/polygon geometries. The part of a geometry between the first and last intersection of the reshape line will be replaced.
* Added snapping to current layer in measure dialog.
* Added ability to select the primary key for views.
* Zoom to a coordinate by entering it in the status bar coordinate display."
Meanwhile, another blog entry discusses a new plugin for hillshading in QGIS.
See also related stories below.
Quantum GIS (QGIS) 1.2.0 'Daphnis' Released
[+]
Quantum GIS aka QGIS, one of the most popular open source GIS project, has released version 1.2.0 code-named 'Daphnis'.
The main areas of improvements: Editing, Plugins, New GRASS shell, Keyboard shortcuts, Map Composer, Attribute tables, Projects Management, PostGIS & the PostgreSQL Provider, Symbology enhancements, Command line arguments. Read more on the link above.
Snippets for Editing and Plugins: "Editing functionality in QGIS has had a major update in this release. This includes the addition of new vector editing tools:
* delete part of multipart feature
* delete hole from polygon
* simplify feature
* Added a new "node" tool (in advanced digitizing toolbar).
* New functionality for merging features
* Added undo/redo functionality for vector layer editing.
* Added option to show only markers of selected features in editing mode.
* Change layer's icon in legend to reflext that the layer is editable. [...]
# A new OpenStreetMap provider and plugin have been added to QGIS!
# The order of layers in the WMS dialog can now be changed. [...]
# The interpolation plugin now has the ability to use line layers as constrains for triangulation in interpolation plugin."
See also related stories below.
Technology: GeoServer 2.0 moves to Release Candidate status
[+]
mpumphrey writes "The GeoServer Team would like to announce that GeoServer 2.0 is now out of beta and has moved into Release Candidate status.
In case you haven't been following our previous posts, GeoServer 2.0 contains a completely redesigned user interface, using Wicket. Based on feedback from our beta testers, the move to RC1 consisted mainly of user interface improvements. One specific new feature to point out is that ArcSDE stores have a better configuration panel, one that simplifies requests to raster coverages.
With 55 issues fixed, this first Release Candidate is deemed stable by the GeoServer Team. But we need your help to verify this, so please download this new version and try it out.
N.B. If you wish to connect GeoServer 2.0 to your existing data directory (from 1.7.x), beware that GeoServer 2.0 changes the directory structure a bit, so should you wish to switch back to 1.7.x, you will need to hand edit some files. Thanks to everyone who helped out with this release! Keep sending that feedback in. Assuming no large problems are found, we should have an official release in the next month or two." See also previous GeoServer stories below.
N.B. If you wish to connect GeoServer 2.0 to your existing data directory (from 1.7.x), beware that GeoServer 2.0 changes the directory structure a bit, so should you wish to switch back to 1.7.x, you will need to hand edit some files. Thanks to everyone who helped out with this release! Keep sending that feedback in. Assuming no large problems are found, we should have an official release in the next month or two." See also previous GeoServer stories below.
OSGeo Journal - Volume 5 - OSGeo 2008 Annual Report
[+]
The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo), which gets a lot of coverage on Slashgeo, just released their OSGeo Annual Report 2008.
It's a 57 pages pdf with its main contents being: "# Executive Reports: Editorial, news items, financial statement
# Committee Reports: Education and Curriculum, Public Geospatial Data, Incubation, Journal, Marketing, Website
# Software Project Reports: deegree, FDO, GeoNetwork opensource, GEOS, GeoTools, GRASS GIS, gvSIG, Mapbender, Mapbuilder, MapGuide Open Source, MapServer, OpenLayers, OSSIM, Quantum GIS and Google Summer of Code
# Local Chapter Reports: Africa, Australia/New Zealand, British Columbia, California, Cascadia, China, Finland, Francophone, German, Greek, India, Italian, Japan, Korean, New Mexico, Ottawa, Poland, Quebec, Romania, Spanish, Twin Cities, United Kingdom"
See the previous related stories below, including one mentioning the OSGeo being now over than 10,000 people strong.
Calendar: 1st Latin American and Caribbean gvSIG conference
[+]
gvSIG Project writes "Buenos Aires will host the 1st Latin American and Caribbean gvSIG users' conference [1], organized by the National Geographic Institute of the Republic of Argentina and the gvSIG Association, with the slogan: "Cooperation is Growth"
This conference will serve as a meeting point to an increasing number of experts and stakeholders in free geomatics, to share experiences and exchange ideas. It will be a turning point towards consolidating the Latin American gvSIG community.
During the conference the latest advances in the gvSIG project will be presented such as the uses and solutions based on gvSIG that are being carried out in diverse Latin American countries; projects that closely follow the international interoperability standards and which are also more sustainable.
Participation in this conference will be open to any person or organization interested in providing a communication and proposals can be sent for evaluation by the Scientific Committee.
The call for communications proposals is open from today until July 27, 2009. Information regarding regulations on communication presentations can be found in the communication's section on the conference's webpage [2].
[1] http://www.gvsig.org/web/community/events/jornadas -lac/2009/
[2] http://www.gvsig.org/web/community/events/jornadas -lac/2009/Comunicaciones"
See some previous gvSIG stories below.
This conference will serve as a meeting point to an increasing number of experts and stakeholders in free geomatics, to share experiences and exchange ideas. It will be a turning point towards consolidating the Latin American gvSIG community.
During the conference the latest advances in the gvSIG project will be presented such as the uses and solutions based on gvSIG that are being carried out in diverse Latin American countries; projects that closely follow the international interoperability standards and which are also more sustainable.
Participation in this conference will be open to any person or organization interested in providing a communication and proposals can be sent for evaluation by the Scientific Committee.
The call for communications proposals is open from today until July 27, 2009. Information regarding regulations on communication presentations can be found in the communication's section on the conference's webpage [2].
[1] http://www.gvsig.org/web/community/events/jornadas -lac/2009/
[2] http://www.gvsig.org/web/community/events/jornadas -lac/2009/Comunicaciones"
See some previous gvSIG stories below.
MapFish Studio
[+]
The following submission is about MapFish Studio, which was mentioned in last March. What's new is the video (see link below) that demonstrates how easy it is now to build and serve a webmap from scratch using open source geospatial software and a GUI. MapFish Studio is multi-OS.
Cedric Moullet writes "Studio, based on MapFish technology, is the new WYSIWYG editor for the creation of web mapping applications.
More information here.
You can also test it live and really publish your application here (be warned: this is a test Amazon instance, not a production service)."
See also related stories below.
Somewhat related, GeoExt.org just revamped its website.
GeoServer 2.0-beta1 Released
[+]
mpumphrey writes "Announcing the release of the first beta of GeoServer 2.0! http://geoserver.org/display/GEOS/GeoServer+2.0-beta1. The focus of version 2.0 is the new user interface. Support has also been added for cascading delete, batch removal of layers, paging and filtering of lists, and the elimination of the Submit-Apply-Save workflow.
Find out more information on the GeoServer blog."
See also related stories below. This was also covered in our mid-week wrap-up yesterday.
MapFish Technical Overview
[+]
Geoweb Guru offers a technical overview of MapFish, the open source web mapping framework.
From the entry: "As a development framework, MapFish Server it better suited for applications where customization is required. MapFish Server also makes it easier to implement editable layers. Ie. MapFish client can transfer feature changes to MapFish Server where the underling PostGIS database is updated. This communication uses the RESTful MapFish Protocol."
See also previous MapFish stories below, including MapFish Manager.
Technology: MapGuide Open Source 2.1 Released
[+]
MapGuide Open Source 2.1 has been released.
From the announcement: "Along with the many bug fixes, this release has:
* many improvements in performance, scalability and stability;
* an improved error reporting system;
* raster re-projection;
* and CS-Map as the coordinate system library."
See also related stories below.
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On the User Friendliness of Open Source Geospatial Software
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Documentation
(Score:2, Interesting)I have an existential map; it has 'you are here' written all over it.
More examples
(Score:2, Informative)( http://www.gaiaresources.com.au/ )
I did a review of open source desktop GIS software for my blog late last year, which has a few more examples:
http://www.gaiaresources.com.au/blogPost.php?id=1
I'd also like to mention an extra catergory 'mobile GIS', which at this stage is only represented by gvSIG mobile although I have found that to be quite good.
http://www.gvsig.gva.es/index.php?id=gvsig-mobile