[OSGeo-Announce] Autodesk announces third major donation to open source community

Tue Aug 5 17:15:56 EDT 2008

Autodesk Contributes Coordinate System Software to the Open Source Community

Open Source Technology Continues to Gain Momentum with Geospatial Professionals

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. Aug. 4, 2008 — Autodesk, Inc., (NASDAQ: ADSK) today 
announced that it has donated the source code for CS-Map coordinate system 
technology to the open source community and is seeking to establish it as part 
of an official OSGeo Foundation project for coordinate reference systems. The 
contribution represents Autodesk’s third major contribution to the open source 
community, following its MapGuide Open Source and Feature Data Object (FDO) 
Data Access Technology donations.

"This contribution advances OSGeo’s mission of supporting and building the 
highest quality open source geospatial software," said Frank Warmerdam, 
president of the OSGeo Foundation.  "Opening the CS-Map source code will ensure 
that all organizations and developers have access to this industrial-quality 
comprehensive library of map projections and coordinate systems, including 
several capabilities not previously available in open source."

“Autodesk recognizes the central values of open source community and enterprise 
development, including faster innovation, more frequent product updates and 
lower overall cost of ownership,” said Lisa Campbell, vice president, Autodesk 
Geospatial. “By contributing the code for CS-Map, Autodesk hopes to meet users’ 
needs while continuing to encourage community participation in software and 
application development.”

Coordinate System Technology Integral to Geospatial Analysis

CS-Map is a coordinate system and map projection library that enables users to 
more easily support geographic coordinate conversions and allow accurate and 
precise geospatial analysis. It currently supports a library of more than 3,000 
map projections and coordinate systems. Coordinate systems are fundamental 
pieces of any mapping or geospatial application and are constantly being added 
and updated. With open source code, the open source community will be able to 
develop coordinate conversions as needed and give organizations and developers 
access to this critical piece of technology.

Autodesk acquired CS-Map through its acquisition of Mentor Software in 
September 2007. CS-Map is currently embedded in most Autodesk geospatial 
products, including AutoCAD Map 3D and Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise.

Open Source Geospatial Projects See Further Adoption

OSGeo currently hosts 15 open source geospatial projects, including MapGuide 
Open Source and FDO Data Access Technology. Since the organization's founding 
in 2006, its projects now represent code contributions from more than 200 
developers including a base of more than 6 million lines of code.

The MapGuide Open Source project also announced the addition of MapGuide 
Maestro to the project, which is a new map authoring tool for MapGuide Open 
Source. MapGuide Maestro is a free application that eases the management of 
spatial data in MapGuide Open Source and has specialized interfaces for editing 
the following components of MapGuide Open Source: feature sources, Layer 
definitions, Map Definitions, Web Layouts and Fusion Layouts.

Organizations large and small are reaping the benefits of the continual updates 
from the community. The Resort Municipality of Whistler, British Columbia has 
adopted MapGuide Open Source to help promote Whistler2020—a program aimed at 
preserving Whistler’s environment with sustainable, eco-friendly practices. 
KidsGIS, an eco-friendly GIS portal developed by volunteers from the geospatial 
field to teach children about the environment, includes an online mapping 
application built on MapGuide Open Source. Both projects also draw on FDO Data 
Access Technology to incorporate data from multiple sources.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the 
manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. 
Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the 
broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help 
customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies 
rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world 
performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality 
and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit 
www.autodesk.com.

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