[OSGeo-Discuss] Re: Raster data on RDBMS

[Gilberto Camara]

Dear all

I would like to take a broader view of the issue of raster data in a
DBMS. Issues of performance are relevant, but the benefits of having
raster data on a DBMS are much more important.

Consider that raster sensors and grid models are by far the dominant
source of new geospatial data. If FOOS4G solutions do not include the
capability of handling raster data in a DBMS, they would be lacking in
functionality compared to commercial solutions from Oracle and ESRI.

INPE´s FOSS4G developement of raster data on RDBMS using the
TerraLib library is a tangible proof of concept. TerraAmazon
(built using TerraLib) is INPE's OS solution for monitoring
tropical forests operationally.

The application was described in a recent article on the OSGEO
journal, and it is arguably one of the biggest geospatial databases
built using FOSS4G. Hundreds of images and hundreds of thousands
of polygons are used operationally in Brazil´s real-time monitoring
of deforestation.

We hope our example helps to convince the community
that we should not waste time arguing that we shouldn't
store raster data in DBMS. FOOS4G needs this capability.
Better yet, we already HAVE this capability on a production level.

Best Regards
Gilberto


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Dr.Gilberto Camara
Director General
National Institute for Space Research (INPE)
Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil

voice: +55-12-3945-6035
fax:   +55-12-3921-6455
web:   http://www.dpi.inpe.br/gilberto
blog:  http://techne-episteme.blogspot.com/
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