Open Source GIS in Salmon Nation

Equity, Ecology, and Economics

Presented by Aaron Racicot – GIS Programmer

aaronr@ecotrust.orgNovember 16, 2005

A Citizen of Salmon Nation

Outline

Introduction Benefits/Limitations of Open Source Technology Overview

OS GIS – Desktop Environments OS GIS – Server Tools

Workflows of interest Desktop “paper map” publishing Web map publishing Web-Based real-time decision support

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

Who am I…B.S. Computer

Science

Split Personality

Telemark/BC SkiingRafting Guide Mountain Rescue

M.S. Environmental Science

Open Source User/Developer

GIS Programmer

Ecotrust - Salmon Nation

Conservation Economy

The many faces of Ecotrust

What is 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 SourceBenefits:

– 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

GIS Software Background

Historically two main categories of GIS– Desktop environments– Server tools

Desktop (commercial solutions):Analysis and Data Manipulation (ArcInfo, ArcGrid)Cartography (ArcView, ArcMap)Image analysis (ERDAS Imagine)

Server (commercial solutions):Database Storage (ArcSDE, Oracle Spatial)Web Mapping (ArcIMS)Web Services (ArcWeb)Image and Data Processing (ArcInfo, ArcGrid)

What about Open Source GIS

We want to take a look at the Open Source alternatives and what the cost/benefits of both proprietary

and OS solutions are.

OS GIS – Desktop Environments

GRASS GIS

OS GIS – Desktop Environments

Pro’s:– Wide variety of platforms supported (UNIX, Linux,

Windows, Mac OS)– You can pick the best tool for the job– Most conform to the OGC standards for

interoperability

Con’s:– Separate packages all with their own strengths– Requires multiple installs and maintenance– User interfaces are often the last part of

development– Harder to produce traditional “paper maps”

OS GIS - Server Tools

GRASS GIS

GDAL/OGR

R-Statistics

OS GIS – Server Tools

• Pro’s:– Wide variety of platforms supported (UNIX, Linux,

Windows, Mac OS)– Often very fast and efficient for the job– Many formats supported

• Con’s:– 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)

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

Workflow – 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…

Ecotrust Example

At Ecotrust we are trying to help pull it all

together in an Open Source context

- QGIS and GRASS as a desktop supplement- PostGIS to store vector data layers- Mapserver as a web-based front end- Chameleon as a client user interface- GRASS as a server side GIS for DST development- OGR/GDAL to pre-process all of the vector and raster data- R-Statistics for graphing and statistical work

Ecotrust 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?

• Real-Time Decision Support Tools• 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 GIS in Salmon Nation

QGIS/GRASSGIS

Web-BasedMapserver

R-Statistics

Fully Integrated Open-Source GISQGIS/GRASS GIS – Fully

functional server GIS doing the heavy lifting. Runs on the server located at Ecotrust.

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 for Salmon Nation

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