[Gdal-dev] ECW JPEG 2000 SDK v3.1 - issues and clarification

[Tom Lynch]

Hi folks,

Just letting you know where things are heading (and where they are at
the moment) regarding the ECW JPEG 2000 SDK and the source code
release, and clearing up any misconceptions that may be floating
around.

Firstly, the ECW JPEG 2000 SDK is the successor to the ECW SDK
released a while back by ER Mapper, and also includes support for the
ISO JPEG 2000 file format, using a common, simple and backward
compatible API.

The SDK library's performance is comparable to KDU's.  It includes
support for using JPEG 2000 with the ECWP streaming imagery protocol
that has been available with ECW for a while.

The source code distribution that's out there right now is
approximately cross-platform.  It was developed on Windows, and ported
to Solaris/GCC, and a reasonable amount of care has been taken to
avoid platform dependencies.  The distribution out there right now
should build on Solaris 8/9 off the shelf, and on Linux with minor
modifications (that you may have seen knocking around on the ER Mapper
forums and the GDAL list).

There are still bugs being fixed on the UNIX side here and there, but
ER Mapper is committed to providing a stable, easy *NIX experience
with the SDK.  Once RC1 of v3.1 goes out everything should be in
excellent shape on the Win32 side, and we are also going to be
cleaning up the makefiles for Solaris/Linux a bit to make your life
easier.

As far as a roadmap for the product, you can expect careful
maintenance since the ECW/JP2 raster technology used by the SDK is at
the core of ER Mapper's commercial product line.  We are looking to
move to 3.1 RC1 as soon as the beta buglist has been doomed, which we
expect will be around the 14th/15th of Feb 2005.  I will notify the
GDAL list when RC1 goes out the door.

We are expecting there will be a v3.2 incorporating performance
enhancements and some interesting new features over the next few
months.

There are three license agreements available for the SDK; free, public
and commercial.  The licensing information is included with the SDK
distributions and should be read carefully.  The exact terms of the
license are under review and may be changing soon (but if there is a
change, it will almost certainly be in the form of a removal of IP
restrictions, rather than an increase of same).

If you have any queries, fire away.

Tom Lynch
Development, ER Mapper
Phone:      +61 8 93882900
Fax:        +61 8 93882901
Email:      tom.lynch at ermapper.com
Web:        http://www.ermapper.com
Forums:     http://forum.ermapper.com