[ForestryTools] Forestry tools

[Lee]

Hey Abdoul,

Let's take this email to the list by responding/mailing to
forestrytools at lists.osgeo.org. I think some of the other individuals would
take a lot of interest in our discussion which might spark some real
movement this summer.

If you understand some of the Qt development and are working towards QGIS
plugins, you're ahead of me. My experience is primarily on the web side of
things, as well as R-scripting (a statistical package). Personally, I'm
going to use this project to learn Qt/Python. From that standpoint, I'm
hoping to be more of a soldier and less of a general on the gritty details
of development.

One discussion we started early on was how we wanted to handle database
management / store information. There were some of us that felt Spatialite
might be a good introductory option, as it has less barriers of entry to
users. That said, PostGIS is far more robust. In either case, I don't think
anyone was really advocating for the use of straight
databases/spreadsheets/shapefiles, but it might be wise to re-initiate that
discussion.

What do you think? Moving forward, we want a platform on which we can
create forestry tools for inventory collection, analysis, etc. What
database system might mesh best with QGIS and provide the necessary
platform?

There's also some different needs on the input/output side. Some of us work
in traditional forestry and simply we need a way to define our inventory
procedures, collect standard inventory information, and output tables and
charts on the resources in those stands. Others work more on the planning,
economics, or regulation side and need more robust GIS and planning
features. That said, I think those of us still interested and engaged are
primarily focused on the former opposed to the latter.

With that in mind I've got some **very** basic R-code for taking inventory
data and turning it into tables and charts. I can move that to python for
later development (task C1). Otherwise, I think your initial thought that
A1 is probably the place to start.

Moving forward, it might also be wise for us to formalize the idea a little
further by authoring and describing what we hope a minimal tool-set will
achieve and look like. It might be far easier for us to pull in the
appropriate tasks if we know exactly what we want.





--
All the best,
Lee
ISA Certified Arborist MI-4148A
Registered Forester #46043


On Wed, May 15, 2013 at 5:35 PM, Abdoul O. Dia <dia.abdoul at gmail.com> wrote:

>  Hi Lee,
>
> Hope that the disaster is limited!
>
> I already registered on the mailing list. I'm following closely what's
> going on. I would like to help to move  forward on the project.
> Regarding your questions, I don't have any code available right now. For
> the moment, I'm trying to master QGIS plugin development using Qt that's I
> am familiar with. On the other hand I'm a trainer on QGIS as well GRASS GIS
> and I'm using these software in my daily business. In addition, I do have
> good experience on Database management and design. So the company that I
> created provides Free Software services (training, plugins development,
> ...etc). I can see that, the "forestry tools" will be of a great help for
> many people I think and there are many small companies here that could be
> interested in using Free Software if they can get solutions to their
> problems and save some $$$.
>
> I don't know how to put things together according to the other people but
> I would like to suggest to start by designing the system for instance
> specifying what do we want as input, potential outputs so entities and
> relationships involved, etc? This could be based on A1 and D?! I think
> these two items could be good starting points even if we could move forward
> on other items. What do you think about it?
>
> These are some information / thoughts that I wanted to share with you.
>
> I wish you all the best and I know this is a forestry busy time :-) .
>
>
> Warmest greetings,
> Abdoul
>
>
>
>
> Le 2013-05-13 18:41, Lee a écrit :
>
>  Hey Abdoul,
>
> My apologies for not responding sooner. We had a small flood here which
> affected a lot of my projects. It's definitely the forestry busy season.
>
>  Have you registered on the mailing list associated with this project?
> That might be a good place to start.
>
> The short answer to your questions is that there's been very little
> movement on most of these tasks. For the most part, we were in the
> brainstorming stages and collecting various pieces of existing code when I
> dropped the ball. That said, it's been on my list to start this again this
> summer. I'm coming into some spare time, and I really want to push this
> forward. If you and I moved our conversation to the mailing list, we might
> be able to re-invigorate interest among the other participants as well.
>
> Do you have any existing code from projects you've worked on that might
> help? Specifically anything in C++, Python, or that can be easily
> transferred over? WHat's your experience with QGIS and plugins?
>
>
> --
> All the best,
> Lee
> ISA Certified Arborist MI-4148A
> Registered Forester #46043
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 12:24 PM, Abdoul Dia <dia.abdoul at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Lee,
>>
>> I've had a glance on the table "Basic Development" on
>> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Talk:Forestry_Tools website. I would like to
>> know who is leading which task and how to get into already set groups and
>> how to move forward. For example, how to know whether the Data Entry task
>> has been started and where the job done is on the track. I'm particularly
>> interested on C1, C2 and D. I could help on others.
>>
>> All the best
>> Abdoul
>>
>>   Task Item Description  A1 Database schema Develop a system for data
>> (chiefly inventory and management prescriptions) that can be stored in a
>> spatial database.  A2 QGIS-Database Link Link database with QGIS layers
>> to support retrieval and viewing of data within QGIS.  B1 Plot layout Automatically
>> generate plot points based on user-entered specifications (spacing, random
>> or regular, etc).  B2 Plot-Stand Allocation Recognize plot location and
>> allocate ownership to appropriate stands. Change if stand location changes.  C1
>> Volume/Stand Calculations Develop functions to perform basic forestry
>> calculations.  C2 Table Generation Use calculations to develop volume
>> tables and stand tables for each stand or defined area.  C3 Report
>> Generator Output information, tables, and figures into neat report.  D Data
>> Entry Create system for data/inventory entry and recognition of possible
>> outliers (errors).     Task Item Description  A1 Database schema Develop
>> a system for data (chiefly inventory and management prescriptions) that can
>> be stored in a spatial database.  A2 QGIS-Database Link Link database
>> with QGIS layers to support retrieval and viewing of data within QGIS.  B1
>> Plot layout Automatically generate plot points based on user-entered
>> specifications (spacing, random or regular, etc).  B2 Plot-Stand
>> Allocation Recognize plot location and allocate ownership to appropriate
>> stands. Change if stand location changes.  C1 Volume/Stand Calculations Develop
>> functions to perform basic forestry calculations.  C2 Table Generation Use
>> calculations to develop volume tables and stand tables for each stand or
>> defined area.  C3 Report Generator Output information, tables, and
>> figures into neat report.  D Data Entry Create system for data/inventory
>> entry and recognition of possible outliers (errors).
>>
>>   2013/4/12 Lee <muellerl at gmail.com>
>>
>>> I'm glad to see you're following the plugin discussions. Initially, I
>>> generated a bit of interest in developing some tools. The goal remains to
>>> develop a usable open-source alternative for forestry inventory and
>>> planning software within the QGIS community. The wiki has some information
>>> on our large-scale visioning:  http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Forestry_Tools.
>>> I spent some time trying to develop a community and some discourse around
>>> what was wanted or desired. Unfortunately, my time has been quite limited
>>> and no large-scale development has taken place. That said, I've generally
>>> developed personal utilities that i use within the R statistics
>>> environment. I'm in the process of migrating those tools over to Python so
>>> it might interface with QGIS.
>>>
>>> In short, I'm beginning to take the project up again. What's your
>>> background in forestry? Do you currently use any utilities or have any
>>> personally built material that might dove-tail nicely with a QGIS forestry
>>> plugin?
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> All the best,
>>> Lee
>>> ISA Certified Arborist MI-4148A
>>> Registered Forester #46043
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 11:43 AM, Abdoul Dia <dia.abdoul at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>>  Dear,
>>>>
>>>>  I've been following your discussions on *[ForestryTools] QGIS
>>>> Forestry Plugin*
>>>>
>>>> and I found it quite interesting. I'm a c++ programmer and forester. I
>>>> would like to know whether this project is ongoing. Maybe I could be of any
>>>> help.
>>>>
>>>> Please let me!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Greetings
>>>>   Abdoul
>>>>
>>>>  --
>>>> Abdoul Ousmane DIA, Ing. f., MSc., Biol.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Abdoul Ousmane DIA, Ing. f., MSc., Biol.
>>
>
>
>
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