A Basic Introduction to Free and Open Source Software

1. A Basic Introduction to Free and Open Source Software Presented by John Bocan

2. Misnomers and misunderstandings • Is it just like the other “free” software and shareware? • Will it run under Windows? Do I have to learn Linux? • Is there a GUI? Will I need to use only the command line? • Does it use some strange and weird filetype? • Do I need to compile source code before I install it? • I guess there is no support if I have a problem? • Who uses this stuff?

3. What is meant by free? • Is it free as in speech or as in beer? • There IS a difference! • We refer to philosophical ideas of freedom and not in terms of price.

4. Free Software Foundation http://www.fsf.org “Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it means that the program's users have the four essential freedoms: ●The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). ● The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. ● The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2). ● The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.” - from the Free Software Definition http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

5. Open Source Software 10 criteria for being “Open Source” • Free Redistribution • Source Code • Derived Works • Integrity of the author's source code. • No discrimination against persons or groups • No Discrimination against fields of endeavor • Distribution of license • License must not be specific to a product • License must not restrict other software • License must be technology-neutral http://www.opensource.org/ From the Open Source Definition http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd

6. Licensing Table 1. Differences between FOSS licenses (modified after Perens 1999). - From: Steiniger and Bocher, “An Overview on Current Free and Open Source Desktop GIS Developments”

7. GIS Software • Desktop • Server • Web Server/Applicaitons • Tools / Frameworks / Libraries • SuitesSoft

8. GIS Software: Desktop • GRASS • Quantum GIS (QGIS) • Udig • OpenJump (and varients) • gvSIG • SAGA

9. Screenshots/examples from: Steiniger and Bocher, “An Overview on Current Free and Open Source Desktop GIS Developments”

10. GIS Software: Server and Web Mapping • GeoServer • MapServer

11. GIS Software: Tools / Libraries / Suites C based: • GDAL raster format reader/writer) • OGR (vector format reader/writer) • Proj4 (coordinate reprojection) • GEOS (geometry objects and functions Java based: • JTS Topology Suite (OpenGIS geometries and methods) • GeoTools (data formats, Java GIS Toolkit) • WKB4J (Java Well-Known Binary reader/writer • GML4J (GML reader/writer)

12. GIS Software: Suites • Arramagong Live DVD • From OSGeo • Xubuntu DVD full of FOSS GIS • http://www.arramagong.com • OpenGeo Suite – Community Edition • Portable GIS on a Stick from Archaeogeek: http://www.archaeogeek.com/blog/portable-gis/ http://www.osgeo.org/files/journal/v3/en-us/final_pdfs/cook.pdf

13. User Questions for Evaluation • Can it work in a current version of MS Windows (or Mac OS X)? e.g., OpenGeo Suite Community or Enterprise Editions • Is there solid, consistent, active recent development for the project/software? • How old is the project in relation to the software product(s)? • The number and type of bugs are in the bug reports? • Evidence of quick turnaround for bug solutions/corrections/fixes? • Ample technical documentation? • Does project have good evolutionary direction? Does project change scope? • Ample, accessible and active help and/or developer forums, wikis, blogs, etc? • Can it work with industry standard file formats including some major proprietary (e.g., shapefile, tiff, jpeg, png, dem)? mrSid? • Can I open a shapfile or create new ones? • Who’s using this? View sample galleries/applications or see if there are links to clients. • Does the project have any industrial, governmental, educational contributors, sponsors, backers? e.g., Refractions Research • Does the project embrace standards? WMS, WFS, metadata • How “free” is the software? As in “freedom”, “beer”, “first one is free”? • Also licensing? Has it changed in the past?

14. Resources: An Overview on Current Free and Open Source Desktop GIS Developments (paper,PDF) ): http://terragis.net/docs/presentations/sstein_foss_desktop_gis_overview.pdf OSGeo: http://www.osgeo.org/ OpenGeo Community-Edition: http://opengeo.org/community/suite/ The State of Open Source GIS – Paul Ramsey http://www.refractions.net/expertise/whitepapers/opensourcesurvey/survey-open-source-2007-12.pdf Free Geography Tools: http://freegeographytools.com/ Listing of Open Source GIS : http://www.opensourcegis.org/ (tries to give licensing info) Overview of Free and Open Source Desktop GIS (charts): http://www.spatialserver.net/osgis/ Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc (OGC) is a non-profit, international, voluntary consensus standards organization that is leading the development of standards for geospatial and location based services. http://www.opengeospatial.org/ John Bocan bocan @ geosrv.wvnet.edu