[OSGeo-Discuss] Whitebox GAT

[Chris Puttick]

Hi

Really exciting concept, I very much like the idea of letting the user see the algorithm; I just differ from other people's views on the use of .net. This is effectively a closed technology and one controlled by a company that has no interested in the sustainability of the solutions created within it. The use of .net also limits the platforms on which the solution can be deployed; strategically that is poor i.e. the limiting of choices in one area because of the choices in another. I would be interested, I imagine off-list, in your reasons for choosing that closed development approach for something you wanted to make very open in other ways.

Regards

Chris

----- "John Lindsay" <jlindsay at uoguelph.ca> wrote:

> Hello, 
> 
> I wanted to let you know about a new open-source GIS project that I
> have initiated called Whitebox Geospatial Analysis Tools. Whitebox GAT
> is a user-friendly and expendable GIS with significant capabilities
> for spatial analysis. In developing Whitebox GAT I have taken a
> transparent approach to the open-source paradigm. That is, if the user
> would like to know how a particular tool's algorithm works, they need
> not download the source code and wade through the immense code base to
> find the few lines of relevant code. Instead, each tool has a 'View
> Code' button that will bring up the specific code related to the tool.
> Furthermore, they are able to convert the code into other programming
> languages. The idea is to remove some of the barriers that exist
> between the developer community and the user community. My analogy is
> that commercial software is like a locked library where only a few
> select individuals have the right to access the information contained
> within; most open source software packages, at least from the
> viewpoint of the user, is like a public library but there is no
> cataloging system and the books are all written in Greek; Whitebox is
> much more like the Internet. You can download Whitebox GAT from:
> 
> http://www.uoguelph.ca/~hydrogeo/Whitebox/index.html
> 
> I'd certainly appreciate any feedback that you may have.
> 
> John Lindsay, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
> Dept. of Geography, Univ. of Guelph
> Guelph, Ont. N1G 2W1   CANADA
> Phone: (519) 824-4120 x56074
> Fax: (519) 837-2940
> Email:  jlindsay at uoguelph.ca
> Department Web: www.uoguelph.ca/geography/
> Personal Web: http://www.uoguelph.ca/geography/faculty/lindsay.html
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

-- 
Chris Puttick
CIO
Oxford Archaeology: Exploring the Human Journey
Direct: +44 (0)1865 980 718
Switchboard: +44 (0)1865 263 800
Mobile: +44 (0)7908 997 146
http://thehumanjourney.net


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