An Overview on Current Free and Open Source Desktop GIS
Developments
Steininger & Bocher
A presentation by Atle F. Sveen, GISc Module 06.11.2008
Agenda
Definition of Free & Open Source software
Free GIS Software
Major Projects
Advantages and disadvantages
Free & Open Source software
(FSF vs. OSI) vs. Proprietary
FOSS
Licenses
Keep the freedoms
Viral vs. Corporate style
GPL, BSD, Mozilla
FOS GIS
Organisations
FOSS
Open Standards
FOS GIS Software
Group on usage
Group on programming language
Group on foundation and maintenance
Desktop GIS
Retronym
A desktop GIS is a mapping software that is installed onto and
runs on a personal computer and allows users to display, query,
update, and analyze data about geographic locations and the
information linked to those locations. (ESRI)
Evaluation Criteria
User level
Application Focus
Development Platform
Features
OGC standards supported
License
Supported OSes
Development API?
Long term
Current state
Projects Evaluated
GRASS The old man
Quantum GIS GRASS for dummies
uDig Eclipse based
gvSIG Spanish ESRI-killer
SAGA German scientific
ILWIS Oldschool teaching system
MapWindow GIS .net GIS kernel
JUMP family Fork'o'rama
KOSMO Spanish Jump fork
OrbisGIS The new kid on the block
GRASS the old man
Geographic Resources Analysis Support System
Developed by the US Army
Alternative to ARCINFO
First version in 1985
GPL in 1999
UNIX based, used by GIS experts
GRASS
Quantum GIS GRASS for dummies
Developed by volunteers
Started 2002
Geographic data viewer for Linux
Plugins heavily used
Quantum GIS
uDig Eclipse based
User-Friendly Desktop Internet GIS
View and edit directly in databases
Commercially driven
Based on the Eclipse platform
Front-end for PostGIS
uDig
JUMP family Fork'o'rama
Open Java Unified Mapping Platform
Canadian companies and ministeries
Data editing
Came short of fundings -> Forks
OpenJUMP
DeeJUMP
SkyJUMP
KOSMO
OpenJUMP
OrbisGIS The new kid on the block
First public version Januray 2008
Targets GIS analysts and researchers
Basic viewing and querying
Vector and raster
OrbisGIS
Advantages
No license fees
Support of standards
and used formats important
Helps learning (free to try)
No re-inventing the wheel
Disadvantages
Training costs
Installation know-how
Limited documentation
Lack of continuity and long-term planning
Maybe no or little support
Companies biased
Conclusions
Open source can't strongly appeal (yet) to conservative late
adopters, and ESRI isfinding it hard (at the moment) to appeal to
technically savvy early adopters.
