Software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed with or without modification.
40
votes
19answers
4k views
What are some Free and Open Source GIS Desktop packages
Can someone please give me a list of free and open source GIS desktop packages?
30
votes
7answers
5k views
Creating drive time polygons using open source tools
Is anyone using open source tools and/or data to generate drive time polygons that radiate out from a given location? For example, I have used ESRI products like Network Analyst and Business Analyst ...
19
votes
9answers
1k views
Discontinuous or Interrupted map projections?
Do any of the current open source GIS softwares support discontinous projection systems? E.g. sinusoidal, dymaxion, butterfly, etc? If not, are there any affordable commercial ones that do (affordable ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
Land Cover Feature Extraction from Satellite Imagery
I'm interested in a low-cost or open source solution for creating land cover GIS layers that utilize both spectral and textural extraction algorithms. I have used PCI Geomatica, ENVI, and Feature ...
5
votes
3answers
782 views
How to interpret GRASS v.kernel results?
GRASS manual reads:
v.kernel - Generates a raster density map from vector points data using a moving 2D isotropic Gaussian kernel ...
Ok, but how do I interpret the results? I understand that ...
23
votes
5answers
3k views
Comparison of the different open source GIS servers
I currently know the following open source GIS servers:
Geoserver: java based, vector and bitmap support, also supports. Is now on par with mapserver (performance-wise).
mapserver: c/c++, used to be ...
9
votes
5answers
5k views
Is there an open source Geocoding tool which can be used commercially?
Is there any Geocoding tool which is open source and can be used in commercial application?
We tried Google geocoding API's but cannot continue with it because of some licensing limitation.
Now ...
7
votes
5answers
3k views
Comparison of Open Source Desktop GIS Packages
I'm curious as to what comparisons are out there between different Open Source Desktop GIS software packages. I'm aware that there has been a QGIS and gvSIG comparison on this site but I am looking ...
12
votes
2answers
2k views
How can I switch baselayers as a user zooms in to the map in OpenLayers
I have a map which overlays Open Street Map data on imagery for Pennsylvania. As a baselayer to the roads (and eventually other layers) I have two baselayers - Blue Marble NG and USGS EROS 1ft ...
35
votes
4answers
1k views
What are the FOSS equivalents to these ArcGIS products?
I'm a long-term user of ESRI software, and I now have a need to use free and open source software.
I've been reading about Open Layers, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, GeoServer and MapServer but I can't find ...
12
votes
4answers
618 views
Python module to delete SHP features (without Desktop GIS installed)
I have a piece of software (not Arc) that runs nightly on a non-production machine which updates shapefile features from an external database. Periodically I would like to delete all of the features ...
6
votes
6answers
4k views
Is there a comprehensive list of latitude and longitude values for cities around the world?
I'm developing an application that calculates the distance between cities using their respective Longitude and Latitude values.
But the problem is where to get a comprehensive list of latitude and ...
10
votes
4answers
505 views
Suggestions for simple mapping platform for alumni web site
I'm working on a proof of concept alumni site with a WordPress backend. I want to have a very simple map that shows where alumni are living. I'm thinking something like the Bing API or a simple open ...
8
votes
10answers
1k views
Need a Benchmark GPS Trajectory data-set? Anyone?
I'm looking for a benchmark GPS data set, available for research purposes for free. I've found GeoLife GPS Trajectories dataset from Microsoft Research but I find it a little incomplete.
What I need ...
1
vote
1answer
741 views
psycopg2 error with QGIS 1.5
So I just installed QGIS 1.5 using the windows installer not the osgeo4w one and now any plugins that need access to PostgreSQL databases don't seem to work, they all throw a:
"Couldn't import Python ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
How to calculate average slope in a grid?
This is actually a two part question:
Which methods are there to calculate average slope by unit (say km²) for a given area? Are there any special requirements on the data - like additional ...
26
votes
7answers
5k views
Open source methods for kriging?
I have a point dataset which I'd like to Krige, ideally using an open-source software package. If possible, I'd also like to choose the semi-variogram model during the process to improve the ...
14
votes
6answers
807 views
Creating simple image from vector data
Can anyone suggest a quick (and preferably open source) way to create an image from a shapefile. For example, I have a shapefile containing parcel boundaries, I want to create a png file depicting ...
19
votes
4answers
485 views
How to generate schemas of GIS hardware / software / workflows?
Quite often I find myself in a situation where I need to explain hardware or software GIS infrastructure to people with no or limited knowledge of GIS. Or give an overview of geoprocessing tasks ...
21
votes
8answers
5k views
Open Source Tool capable of reading Esri File Geodatabase (.gdb)?
I have an Esri File Geodatabase(.gdb) file that I would like to convert to shapefile (or any other non-proprietary format). Are there any Open Source tools to do so?
10
votes
3answers
3k views
Post Processing GPS Data with open source software
I am using Magellan Professional Mapper CX working on ArcPad 7.1 platform. It has sub-meter accuracy after post processing. Without post processing the data collected in the field is off by 10 to 15 ...
8
votes
5answers
2k views
A SQL console in QGIS
I know QGIS comes with its field calculator, which is not bad. It also comes with ftools which permits several operations on geometry and attributes. But we often need more control and I haven't seen ...
6
votes
1answer
592 views
Open source tool for point/node conflation/matching?
The Question
Are there any open source tools for conflating (matching) two layers of point (node) data?
Motivation
I'm particularly interested in using such a tool to sync data with OpenStreetMap, ...
14
votes
3answers
1k views
Network Analyst - Is it the only choice?
I'm not sure how reasonable this question even is, but it leaves me no less curious after a bit of searching. If I am looking to build a network based on road features and attributes, is Network ...
8
votes
14answers
4k views
Which GIS support DXF and/or DWG?
Which GIS support DXF and/or DWG (preferably read&write)?
Update: Are there any open source GIS supporting these or similar CAD files?
Support of CAD files generally seems to be problematic. ...
6
votes
1answer
143 views
Looking for open source software similiar to ESRI City Engine
I am looking for open source software similar to ESRI City Engine and currently going through open source software directory.
Update :
About ESRI City Engine (Quick introduction)
We want to make ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Create 3D dxf with OGR
Does anyone know if it's possible to create a 3D dxf with OGR. I would like to assign our contour lines a z value and export them to dxf for some cad work.
PS I know FME can do this, however I would ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
Remove Duplicate Polygons Using Open Source Tools
I have a shapefile containing features with duplicate geometries, but different attributes (e.g. a polygon with attribute XX, and an identical polygon with attribute XY). I want to identify the ...
7
votes
3answers
2k views
free GIS software that can orthorectify?
Would someone care to recommend a free and/or open source GIS application that can orthorectify map images?
6
votes
3answers
541 views
Can we use GeoExt Freely?
I want to know, can we use GeoExt freely? is there any need to purchase some license for using GeoExt ?
Actually i am already working with free Open source tools (OpenLayers+GeoServer) for my webMap ...
24
votes
7answers
586 views
GIS developer blogs … recommendations?
I'm looking for recommendations for GIS blogs ... specifically GIS developer blogs. I'm less interested in the geography than in how apps are put together.
I'd like to keep up with ESRI ArcGIS as ...
16
votes
4answers
545 views
Advice on a generic open-source package roadmap
I just wanted to ask an advice from the open source GIS gurus on a recommended stack to use for my envisioned project, as I do not fully understand the limits of the possible with most packages. I ...
12
votes
3answers
3k views
Free Alternative to AutoCAD Map
I would like to know if there are any free (for commercial use) software packages that roughly correlate to the functionality in AutoCAD Map. Specifically, I am looking for something that is:
...
19
votes
7answers
1k views
Work flow for georeferencing imagery using open source tools?
Does anyone have a recommendation for a work flow for georeferencing high resolution aerial photography using open source tools? Comparison of user friendliness and robustness between Quantum GIS ...
13
votes
9answers
664 views
Open Source Training Materials
This recent question made me wonder if there are any open source training materials for GIS.
By this I don't mean training specifically for open source software - of which I know there are some - ...
14
votes
4answers
814 views
What is Change Detection and how I can perform such analysis with open source tools?
From wikipedia page:
Change detection for GIS (geographical information systems) is a process that measures how the attributes of a particular area have changed between two or more time periods. ...
21
votes
4answers
1k views
Are there open source alternatives to ArcCatalog?
I'm looking for open source alternatives to ArcCatalog. The software should run on both Win and Linux and support the usual file formats (shp, kml, gml, ...) and databases (especially PostGIS, ...
20
votes
8answers
1k views
How to easily shift all features in a vector dataset?
Let's say that I put together a Shapefile and all the features have their vertices shifted by a constant amount. What's the easiest way of shifting all the features (hence the (x,y) position of their ...
11
votes
5answers
4k views
Pure JavaScript Library for Geometry Operations
Does anyone know of a pure JavaScript library for doing geometry operations such as buffer, union, intersects, etc? I want to play with doing these operations in the browser. It looks like ...
7
votes
2answers
283 views
How to create noise maps? (open source or scripted in ArcGIS)
In a previous role I helped create Noise Maps for Northern England.
The predicted noise levels was done using the IMMI package (which I can recommend) and the cartographic output was done in ArcMap. ...
14
votes
4answers
347 views
Is there a FOSS solution for legend parsing in a web mapping environment?
Our web mapping requirements are fairly standard - some basic querying and the ability to print out the resulting map (or save the image). Typically we've used ESRI products in the past (right now ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
How to calculate orientation of line segments using open source GIS?
I'd like to calculate the orientation of line segments relative to north direction using open source tools. Which tools or functions would you recommend?
13
votes
5answers
1k views
Pure Python Library for Geometry Operations
Does anyone know of a pure Python (no C or Java dependencies) library for doing geometry operations such as buffer, union, intersects, etc? I'm looking for something that Google AppEngine compatible. ...
12
votes
3answers
636 views
Open Source Map Composing Tool
Are there any open source tools which can be used for map composing, preferably GUI based. I use Quantum GIS sparingly but I am interested to know if there are others. The tool must be able to read ...
10
votes
6answers
595 views
Open source Cloud GIS
I'm looking for an open source cloud GIS solution.
Current situation:
Up to 100gb of data stored in file geodatabases that is updated daily. Data is used to create maps as well as geoprocessing ...
8
votes
5answers
516 views
Looking for a Metadata Editor
Looking for a free open source metadata editor for the development of an enterprise database. It will mostly be used for documenting shapefiles and GeoTIFFs. Hoping that it will be an intuitive ...
3
votes
1answer
360 views
Is there an open source tool for both road network analysis and geocoding?
Is there any one open source software package that can perform both road network analysis and geocoding?
15
votes
3answers
2k views
Is there a decent open source map-editor?
I would like to have an open source map editor for drawing a city map? I don't want to use OpenStreetMap. It will be a custom map project.
I don't need an advanced GIS system, but a simple ...
13
votes
2answers
284 views
Opensource solutions for finishing maps
After seeing the $600 price tag for Adobe Illustrator, I am especially interested in learning open source solutions for finishing maps created in a GIS. What open source, or commonly available, ...
7
votes
5answers
368 views
Where can I get neighborhood boundaries?
Besides Zillow's creative-commons licensed neighborhood boundaries shapefiles, what sources of neighborhood boundaries are there? Not just in the US, but all over the world.
Free/open source is ...
