[gdal-dev] ESRI file geodatabase support

[Peter J Halls]

In October 2008 at the European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) User Conference, 
Jack Dangermond announced that the FGB format would be published, 'as was the 
shapefile', at the 9.4 release, following the completion of developments to the 
structure.  We were then told to expect 9.4 in summer 2009.  9.4 has slipped 
into 10 and we are still waiting for that.  Checking the ESRI web site this 
morning I find that 10 is now 'end of June' - just in time for the User 
Conference in San Diego? - a further slippage.  However, there appear to have 
been some changes in the Support section that may be preparation for new 
material.  There does not yet appear to be any new material for the FGB; I 
anticipate a white paper if this was not a hollow promise.

I would plead that if there is anyone on this list who will be attending this 
year's ESRI User Conference, that s/he check the ESRI web site for the 
publication of the FGB format just before the event starts and if it has not 
been published then to take advantage of the facility to pose questions to 
ESRI's President to question whether the commitment made at EMEA in London in 
2008 is to be honoured.  That could produce an interesting response!

Note that the commitment was for the *format*, not the API, so that reverse 
engineering should not be necessary.

Thanks and best wishes,

Peter

Matt Wilkie wrote:
> I've lost all confidence that ESRI's as yet unpublished API will be open 
> enough to allow gdal/ogr to use it without reverse engineering.
> 
> Although promised years ago (ESRI UC, 2007) they've been dragging their 
> feet and being quite close mouthed about the whole thing. Even as 
> recently as a few months ago they have been unwilling to even say if it 
> will be usuable without purchasing a run-time license. Apparently they 
> did say at the March developer summit that there will be no support for 
> Annotation, Relationships, Networks, Topologies, Representations, 
> Terrains and Parcel Fabrics in FGDB API. Simple Features only, and C++ 
> only.
> 
> Personally, I think it's time to give up waiting for the fgdb api and 
> start looking into a truly open source alternative for a shapefile 
> successor. SpatialLite is the best candidate I know of.
> 
> Of course we can't ignore the fgdb as for better or ill we still live 
> and operate within an ecosystem dominated by ESRI. It just won't be the 
> next lingua franca, used by all as a common exchange format.
> 
> Sources:
> 
> http://forums.esri.com/Thread.asp?c=93&f=985&t=243828
> http://spatialgalaxy.net/2010/03/28/speculations-on-the-file-geodatabase-api/ 
> 
> http://www.spatialdbadvisor.com/blog/121/the-shapefile-manifesto/
> 
> 
> matt wilkie
> --------------------------------------------
> Geomatics Analyst
> Information Management and Technology
> Yukon Department of Environment
> 10 Burns Road * Whitehorse, Yukon * Y1A 4Y9
> 867-667-8133 Tel * 867-393-7003 Fax
> http://environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/geomatics/
> --------------------------------------------
> 
> On 09/06/2010 11:23 AM, Frank Warmerdam wrote:
>> Eduardo Kanegae wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I´ve this topic at Google
>>> http://osgeo-org.1803224.n2.nabble.com/When-or-if-OGR-can-support-ESRI-file-geodatabase-td2592778.html 
>>>
>>>
>>> Is there any plan for OGR on supporting this ESRI format or this will
>>> depend on 'when' ESRI be able to open this format specification.
>>
>> Eduardo,
>>
>> Ragi Burhum has offered an ArcObjects based solution/driver for 
>> reading file
>> geodatabases for those with an ArcObject license.  I'm not sure what the
>> exact status of that driver is since I'm not in a position to help 
>> with it.
>>
>> For a less encumbered solution for file geodatabase we are effectively
>> waiting to see what ESRI provides in the manner of an SDK for reading 
>> them.
>> Once we have that, it is also not clear who, if anyone, would turn it 
>> into
>> an OGR driver.
>>
>> Best regards,
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-- 
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Peter J Halls, GIS Advisor, University of York
Telephone: 01904 433806     Fax: 01904 433740
Snail mail: Computing Service, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD
This message has the status of a private and personal communication
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