[OSGeo-Discuss] Can I do the same GIS tasks with OS (as with ESRI)?

[Dirk Frigne]

> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: discuss-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [mailto:discuss-
> bounces at lists.osgeo.org] Namens Christopher Schmidt
> Verzonden: vrijdag 25 april 2008 20:52
> Aan: OSGeo Discussions
> Onderwerp: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Can I do the same GIS tasks with OS (as
> with ESRI)?
> 
> On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 08:21:21PM +0200, Arnulf Christl wrote:
> > What was a Desktop GIS exactly? I only have a browser and for some
> strange
> > reason all that I do starts with an http://...
> 
> A Desktop GIS is what you switch to when you realize that the browser
> makes a really poor operating system, and moving outside of it and
> using
> the rest of your computer is important to accomplishing some tasks.


Hey Christopher,

I understand your answer, but instead of switching to the desktop GIS only,
you should decide to switch to the server in some circumstances for
accomplishing some tasks...

The decision is based in m.h.o. on the level of control that is needed for
these complex tasks. If they are to be controlled by the user (you decide
the sequences and algoritmes) then a desktop GIS makes sense. If you want to
provide pre-calcualted complex tasks and use cases, the server side approach
makes more sense.

I am working on a Browser based 'desktop' GIS application framework. For all
sort of applications in the latter case, the browser/server based
architecture has advantages above the GIS desktop solution. 


sincerly,
Dirk Frigne
http://www.gegis.org
http://www.frigne.be
http://majas.dfc.be