[OSGeo-Discuss] Re: Will there be an OSGeo Desktop shootout atFOSS4G 2010?

[Cameron Shorter]

Helena,
Excellent stuff. I don't suppose you could be tempted to add reference 
to your material to the OSGeo Case Studies page:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Case_Studies#GRASS

On 23/12/2009 8:20 AM, Helena Mitasova wrote:
> I have numerous examples of gis  tasks done side-by-side in GRASS and 
> ArcGIS here:
>
> http://courses.ncsu.edu/mea582/lec/001/GIS_anal_assign/GIS_Anal_Assignall.html 
>
>
> The data for the examples are available as GRASS data location and 
> ArcGIS geodatabase
> (links on top of the document)
> as well as in shape and ArcGRID format (I could not get all rasters 
> convert correctly to GeoTIFF
> at the time I was preparing the data) here
> http://www.grassbook.org/data_menu3rd.php
>
> It certainly does not cover everything (especially vector data and 
> database examples are very limited)
> but there is plenty to show various aspects of GIS from simple display 
> and visualization to complex
> analysis.
>
> It would be interesting to see some of these examples done in other 
> systems - we tried QGIS but that ended up
> using GRASS plugin too much, so other more independent software would 
> be more interesting.
> I will be updating the material in next few months to capture the 
> latest developments and plan
> to add another course with examples in different software packages in 
> fall.
> I am sure there will be a lot of interest here to see how at least 
> some of the tasks are executed
> in MapWindows of gvSIG and also extension of this material to cover 
> more vector / database
> and image processing material.
>
> Feel free to use the data, the examples are various modifications of 
> the examples from the GRASbook,
>
> Helena
>
>
>
> Helena Mitasova
> Associate Professor
> Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
> North Carolina State University
> 1125 Jordan Hall
> NCSU Box 8208
> Raleigh, NC 27695-8208
> http://skagit.meas.ncsu.edu/~helena/
>
> email: hmitaso at unity.ncsu.edu
> ph: 919-513-1327 (no voicemail)
> fax 919 515-7802
>
>
>
>
> On Dec 22, 2009, at 3:19 PM, Stefan Steiniger wrote:
>
>> Hei Dan,
>>
>> thanks for the thoughts - I like them too and thats what I see too.. 
>> we need not only to bring up the highlights between FOSGIS but even 
>> more to convince people to eventually have a look on FOSGIS by 
>> comparing it to ESRIs desktop software, since they have set a bit the 
>> standards (at least for teaching higher level geography GIS courses).
>>
>> But two notes: I doubte that ESRI has 80% because this would mean the 
>> utility market is not considered. And I think one talks here more 
>> about ESRI in a gegraphical analysis perspective. While I am not sure 
>> what the average GIS user actually does (i.e. How many do queries, do 
>> editing, do "real" analysis?).
>>
>> I like your subquestions - and allow me to add comments :)
>>> And the three main sub-questions are:
>>> Can I open the same files?
>> well.. on the c-tribe side yes thanks to Gdal/OGR? But i would 
>> restrict to core file types (shp, dxf, mif, raster stuff)
>>
>>> Can I make the same maps?
>> uuhmmm - not yet, but...?
>>
>>> Can I do the same analyses?
>> With Sextante probably yes, now.
>>
>>> Can I teach the same lessons?
>> Ahh.. that hits a point. As we need to tell students about "this open 
>> source stuff". I actually plan to check out the next days if I can 
>> replace some arcgis analysis tools with sextante for a course.
>>
>> So maybe we check what is taugth in the GIS core curriculum?
>>
>>> Something like the MS thesis about GRASS and ArcGIS that was 
>>> mentioned, but web-based and updated by the various project members.
>>
>> Sounds good and its great if you would have even student resources.
>> I actually tried to do such comparison already in my second 
>> publication on GIS in landscape ecology and in my last talks - my 
>> result was: Most of the FOS desktop GIS are on the ArcView level and 
>> a bit beyond, but we can not compete with ArcInfo (leave a side the 
>> need for an easy map making tool - not sure how good the last QGIS 
>> tool is). So by now I see our chance in providing "specialist" tools 
>> for target groups that are either too small for ESRI, Pitney Bowes & 
>> Intergraph & Co to be ever included in their official distribution or 
>> that may be to expensive to be bought as extension for some (I 
>> remember a friend who once needed Maplex for labeling but not the 
>> rest of ArcGIS ArcInfo analysis features). And we would need to 
>> highlight which whose things are.
>>
>> here a link to that pub:
>> http://www.geo.uzh.ch/~sstein/finalpub/steiniger_geographic_information_tools_ecoinf2009.pdf 
>>
>>
>> stefan
>> _______________________________________________
>> Discuss mailing list
>> Discuss at lists.osgeo.org
>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss


-- 
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Solutions Manager
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254

Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
http://www.lisasoft.com