[OSGeo-Edu] Desktop GIS Handbook

[Simon Cropper]

Hi Charlie, 
Since I have not received any comments about this issue I have reposted under 
a new subject title as my response may have been missed by people not 
reviewing the original thread.
Below is my original post...
> 3) I'm going to continue working on the desktop GIS handbook over the 
> next few months. Remember these links?
>
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Desktop_GIS_exercises
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Web_GIS_lab_exercises
>
>Anyone have any other additions or contributions?
After nearly 8 months I have finally acquired some aerial photography and 
vector data from the Victorian Government under a CC-BY-SA (I actually have a 
piece of paper. Took a lot of negotiation but eventually did it). 
I am now actively preparing my tutorials (repository, templates, data bundles, 
how to's).
I was unaware of the above links and had given my draft a working title 
'Desktop GIS Handbook' to avoid conflicts with others suggestions they would 
use 'Cookbook' (this is following extensive searching for such a title on the 
Internet). Obviously I am going to have to decide on anothe r name to avoid 
confusion with what you are developing. 

My outline of tasks are based on my recent paper in the latest OSGeo Journal 
(http://www.botanicusaustralia.com.au/Documents/164-334-1-PB.pdf) but will 
expand this list under broad groupings to include other activities. 
Obviously once developed and released you will be able to either link to, 
create a copy or create regional derivatives of my work as I am releasing the 
information under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 Australia licence. 
My tutorials are focusing originally on gvSIG (which at the moment is still in 
incubation) but I had decided to broaden the brief to include any free and 
unencumbered packages (this allows me to create tutorials for some freeware 
conversion routines for ECW and DWG files). My initial candidates were 
gvSIG+Sextante, OpenJUMP, QGIS, GDAL command line utilities and SAGA. The 
choice is based on what I use to get things done rather than dogmatically 
sticking to one package.

After reviewing structured documents, open office, PDFs and various other 
document types (see previous posts), I decided the most pivotal element to 
development of this type of resource is accessibility to published documents 
for maintenance and creation of derivatives. Without running through all the 
logic I have fallen back to basic HTML to be made available on-line, which in 
turn will be used to create PDFs that will be able to be used off-line.
PREEMPTIVE ANSWER - I decided not to use OpenOffice Writer because although it 
is very easy to create documents, maintenance and derivatives are difficult to 
create. Essentially ODT files need to be disassembled then reassembled with 
every derivative (consider the actual structure). This places huge barriers to 
ongoing maintenance of this type of resource. In HTML, files can be updated by 
duplicating the directory, replacing the images with updated ones, then the 
text updated accordingly. Side-by-side editors like Diffuse or Goggle Translate 
can be easily used to do this without worrying about the HTML tags. This 
option is a bit like using a structured document without the rigidity.  
I am currently preparing an introduction, packaging the data and preparing 
notes on how others can contribute to the project if they want. 
PREEMPTIVE ANSWER - I decided not to house it under the OSGeo framework 
because as a self confessed control freak I like freedom when developing a 
resource. Freedom to chop and change anything without holding a meeting to ask 
permission. I also wanted an easily accessible domain and the ability to 
create a webpage outside the existing OSGeo wiki structure. At least at the 
outset I was going to keep the resource on my company webpage although I might 
look into creating a new domain once I settle on a new name or another option 
if one become available.  
Postscript - I h ad not intend to pilfer your handbook idea. I came to the 
OSGeo-Edu Group after being invited by Cameron Shorter after he became aware 
of my 'tutorial project'. Obviously the need for this type of resource has 
resulted in a number of disparate people/groups considering the development of 
a handbook. As I have teased out the various issues that I have encountered I 
have posted my thoughts on the mailing list for input by others. I intend to 
continue with my resource, at least until I complete what I set out to do, but 
have structured my work to ensure that the resource will not be lost to the 
broader community if I loose interest or unable to continue my work (see Note 
5). Once I have a palpable base I will upload to my webpage and let people 
know via this list. 
 Cheers Simon
     Simon Cropper
     Botanicus Australia Pty Ltd
     PO Box 160, Sunshine, Victoria
  & nbsp;  W: http://www.botanicusaustralia.com.au
     T: +61 (03) 9311 5822. M: 041 830 3437. 
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