Free and Open Source GIS

V.Ravi Kumar

Right-to-information and Open Map Policy have increased awareness towards GIS based information systems. With an open map policy being implemented by the government, a lot of agencies are working extensively with various Geographic Information System (GIS) related tasks, from making paper maps into computer datasets to GIS based planning by adding attribute information of choice. Use of GIS in urban local bodies is now encouraged by initiatives like National Urban Renewal Mission (http://urbanindia.nic.in/moud/programme/ud/jnnurm.htm). A large portion of map-data will now be freely available and goverement as well as NGOs are trying to find easier ways to manage, update and publish information for the public. Further many NGOs are working in areas like environmental studies for a sustainable development, town planning, waste disposal and management, rural development etc, with extensive use of GIS systems. GIS which otherwise is only available at a high cost has restricted it's usage to some selected institutes and government agencies. How ever with the advent of Free and Open Sorce Software(FOSS), FOSS GIS is going to revolutionise the concept of GIS in the developing world. FOSS GIS is one of the most developed and enticing domains with extremely cost effective solutions with almost no prise tags attached. FOSS GIS is poised to etch a sustainable growth of GIS in our country.

FOSS GIS software:

The FOSS GIS initiative is lead by many a software, of which a selected few with GNU license are listed below. GNU license is one of the important spirits behind the FOSS movement. Details of GNU license are available at http://gnu.org.

Geographic Resource Analysis Support System (GRASS):

GRASS is one of the very early GIS programs and has been developing since early eighties. Baylor University-USA, developed GRASS into a versatile GIS platform right from mid nineties. The International GRASS development team from Trento, Italy and code developers around the world have fine tuned GRASS with several impressive vector and raster capabilities along with database and other highend compatibility. GRASS-6 the latest stable version supports various vector and raster formats for import and export including most popular GIS formats like shape and image formats along with a built-in 3-Dimentional viewer. Website: http://grass.itc.it

Qgis:

Quantum Geographic Information System (Qgis) is a product that works compatible with GRASS GIS environment on both Windows as well and GNU-Linux environments. This is a very userfriendly predominantly Vector GIS which simplifies vectorisation and creation of shapefiles etc. Qgis can also act as a powerful map database server with PostgreSQL support. Website: http://qgis.org

OpenJUMP:

‘Open Java Unified Mapping Platform’, is a very userfriendly GIS that works equally well on both Windows and GNU-Linux environments. OpenJUMP also has features for raster to vector conversion, map joining for building a GIS database and simple modelling techniques. Java runtime environment which is available for a free download may be required to run OpenJUMP GIS. Website: http://openjump.org

Modus operandi for a Vector GIS project:

A project for creating a vector GIS database may follow the suggested steps before the users will learn sufficiently to explore other FOSS GIS options. Fitting the occassion, convertion of an educational institution’s map is hinted in the example below.

Steps for making your first GIS from the scratch:

Download the user guide and sample datasets from OpenJUMP site. Reharse and practice on the examples provided until you are sure that you can do on your own.

  1. Get hold of a Map or Satellite imagery or freely available data of your institute as a JPEG image. If a hard copy map is available, then (optical) scan the paper map into a JPEG file.
  2. Install OpenJUMP latest edition after downloading the same from the website. Run OpenJUMP and open a raster layer with JPEG image of your educational institute.
  3. Make different layers as per your requirement like, roads , institutes, entertainment zones, hostels, waterbodys etc.
  4. Choose the required tool from the tool-box and vectorise the background image into points, lines and polygons.
  5. Build attribute information as desired.
  6. Enjoy the beauty of what you have created, by querying, and add on what ever information as you please. May be you wish to add names to the trees in your campus !

Support available for FOSS GIS:

All the FOSS GIS software have websites that have an option to join userlists. A user list is your way of easyly solving the problems you might face by posting your query on the list. Solution to your query will be answered from any part of the globe. After you gain sufficient experience, you will sure be answering queries from newbies in the best spirit of FOSS philosophy. A wealth of information is available from the seminars and workshops conducted worldwide. Of great interest is the website http://www.foss4g2006.org where from, almost the entire state of the art of FOSS GIS scientific papers and presentations can be downloaded.

There are many organisations that support FOSS GIS, of which a few are listed below.

OSGeo international:

“The Open Source Geospatial Foundation has been created to support and build the highest-quality open source geospatial software. The foundation's goal is to encourage the use and collaborative development of community-led projects. This website serves as a portal for users and developers to share their ideas and contribute to project development. As the Open Source Geospatial Foundation grows and changes, so will this website. Please check back often and sign up to the mailing lists to monitor developments. To get involved, check out the Getting Started page”. https://www.osgeo.org/

OSGeo India:

“The India OSGeo Chapter will strive to serve anyone interested in Open Source Geospatial Solutions and related issues, and to cover all the activities associated with the application, development and promotion of Open Source Geospatial solutions in India”. http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/India

EOGEO International:

“EOGEO exists to deliver sustainable Earth Observation and Geospatial Information and Communication Technologies (EOGEO ICTs) that are vital to the operation of Civil Society Organizations and to the well being of individual citizens. Our goal is to relieve individuals and organizations from the complexities involved in creating, accessing, managing, and delivering EOGEO ICTs by providing a combination of data, tools, and services.” Website: http://www.eogeo.org/