[Qgis-user] Functionality matrix

[Alex Mandel]

I tend to break it down at the Macro level when trying to explain the
comparability.

See pg 17
http://www.scribd.com/doc/172165387/Introduction-to-Geospatial-The-open-source-method
Notice I don't ever expect a 1:1, part of the key is understanding that
open source is a collection of software together under various names,
where other well known software is a behemoth under one name but is
really a bunch of separately developed parts too.


In reality the number of primitives in geospatial is actually not that
large, it's the remixing combinations of how you apply the ideas that
turns into the thousands of functions listed. There is a way to do most
things in any system, some of them are one-click and some of them are
complicating chaining of simpler steps.

If you are specifically trying to transition and need to know how to do
the equivalent... then the key is to figure out what the common term is
for the process not the software specific word they picked. For that
Internet search engines crawling nabble, stackexchange, various blogs
seems to find most answers. Last resort ask on the mailing list or IRC
and explain what you are trying to do (not what software Y calls it) and
someone is likely to know a way.


Thanks,
Alex

On 03/12/2014 03:32 AM, James Wood wrote:
> Might I also add that it is hard to generalize software functionality because of licensing levels and implementation tiers. Can I create Voronoi (Thiessen) polygons within ArcMap? Yes and no. I can with an Advanced license, but not if I have Basic or Standard. I don't have to worry about that with QGIS. Does the Esri software platform allow connection to PostgreSQL databases? Yes and no. I have an Advanced level license of ArcGIS Desktop installed on my laptop, but because I do not have an Enterprise-level ArcSDE installation, I cannot access my PostgreSQL database. QGIS allows me direct access without the fuss. Need to perform a simple task like converting your polygons to lines? You'll need an Advanced Desktop license in the "software that must not be named"... but it is as simple as Vector>Geometry Tools>Polygons to lines in QGIS (2.2). And, of course, depending on the desired result, there may not be a single tool within either software that gets you what you want. I have perfor
med a lot of drive-time analysis for fire station ISO ratings, and right now, that's just easier in the Esri software, however I feel like improved support for that is on the horizon for QGIS along with some other more advanced analysis tasks. The easiest geocoder I ever used (for use with locally stored data) was in a previous version of MapInfo. There are strengths and weaknesses to go around, so instead of an overall matrix comparison, it might be more fruitful to look at your particular task-oriented functions and research those. In the end, you may find that a blending of different software is a best fit.
>  
> Best Regards,
> James
>  
>  
>> Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 07:46:51 +0100
>> From: cavallini at faunalia.it
>> To: qgis-user at lists.osgeo.org
>> Subject: Re: [Qgis-user] Functionality matrix
>>
> Il 11/03/2014 22:02, Anita Graser ha scritto:
>>>> Am 11.03.2014, 20:51 Uhr, schrieb Steve G <stevenlgolden at gmail.com>:
>>>>> I am
>>>>> seeking to find comparisons of functions in QGIS to another proprietary
>>>>> desktop GIS software provider (starts with "E", ends with "I").
>>>>
>>>> Check
>>>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aho5SyzIJT5ydGFzUkk0SHpuYWxWS3dKVUtvT1JFLUE&usp=sharing
> 
> Beware: functionality matrices sond good, but for complex programs are essentially
> unfeasible, unless one has months to dedicate to this effort. QGIS in particular is a
> fast moving target, as we are implementin g new functions very rapidly, so existing
> matrices are incomplete _and_ obsolete.
> All the best.
>