[GRASSLIST:1021] Re: creating a desktop GIS application using GRASS

[Radim Blazek]

Great! I am also mere mortal and I was waiting for such project a long time. 

On Monday 25 August 2003 08:03, Jesse Hammons wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> I think there are a
> lot of people out there who would love to make maps but they can't
> afford commercial GIS programs and probably wouldn't be able to use
> GRASS even if they knew about it.  

Can you specify better your target user groups (home users, students,
public administration, enterprise, ...)? See below.

> I want this project to be GPL like the rest of GRASS ...

This is the problem, I think. For most GIS users, the basic system, like
ArcView, does not cover all their needs and they are using additional
applications - extensions for basic GIS. The problem is that because
of GPL, it is impossible to create proprietary applications for GRASS.
While for commercial GISes, it is possible to distribute both free
and proprietary applications, GPL GIS allows GPL compatible extensions only.
It is illusion to think, that all required extensions can be created 
under GPL. Until such applications are available (good quality,
localized, with commercial support) most serious GIS users cannot 
choose GRASS as their main system.

I don't mention this because I want to discourage you but because I am 
highly interested in success of such project. I think that you will face 
this problem looking for funding.

If your are sure that potential users of your software do not need 
proprietary extensions, then GPL is OK, otherwise we have to find some
way how to make it realy free, i.e. not Free (GPL).

> (for the moment I'm going to use the source from the most recent stable
> version of GRASS).

Vectors are changed a bit in coming new version (5.1), do not invest to much 
time to vector handling in current (5.0/5.3) version.

> If you know of existing projects that fit this description, I would
> like to hear about them.

My first step in this direction, certainly not so ambitious, is GRASS
extension for QGIS:
http://mpa.itc.it/radim/qgis/

Another project, currently under development is java based interface,
unfortunately I don't know the home page.

> Several people have already warned me that many have tried and failed
> at this task.  I like a challenge...

I don't think that many people realy seriously tried.


Radim