[Incubator] gvSIG Project Incubator entry request

[Frank Warmerdam]

Cameron Shorter wrote:
> There are a number of Open Source desktop GIS applications: JUMP, Open 
> JUMP, gvSIG, OpenMap, uDig, qGIS, others?
> 
> Do these all serve a different niche, or (as is my suspicion) is there a 
> lot of overlap?
> While some diversification is a good thing, too much reduces the 
> effectiveness of our community.
> 
> So I'd like to ask gvSIG:
> 1. How is the gvSIG different to the other Desktop GIS applications?
> 2. What opportunities are there to collaborate and share functionality 
> with similar projects?
> 3. If OSGeo only had the resources to take one desktop GIS application 
> into Graduation, why should it pick gvSIG?
> 
> While these questions are targeted at gvSIG, I'd be happy to hear 
> answers across the board.

Cameron,

I'm sure that gvSIG will speak up for themselves.  But I just wanted to
offer a few thoughts.

First, we have deliberately decided not to limit ourselves to just one
project per role.  So, for instance, there is a great deal of overlap
in functionality and niche between MapServer and MapGuide, and between
GDAL/OGR and FDO and to some extent between the web tier projects
(Mapbender, MapBuilder and OpenLayers).

That said, I'd hate to see ourselves in the position of promoting
a half dozen desktop gis projects in the future without at least some
clear understanding of niches that the different projects are strong in.
So, I think it is a useful exercise for us to review the strengths of
particular projects and why they would make good OSGeo project.  It might
be better to think of it as "if we only wanted to have 2-4 OSGeo GIS
desktop applications, why should gvSIG be one of them".

I will note, in support of gvSIG, that it is one of the best resourced
of the open source gis desktop applications which has resulted in
rapid and deep development.

I was also thrilled this last week or two to see the Sextante announcement.
This is a suite of GIS analysis tools for gvSIG including "geostatistics,
geomorphometry, hydrology or point pattern analysis, among others, along
with basic raster and vector data handling utilities."

With regard to collaboration, some of that is already happening.  But
I must admit to not understanding well about how GeoTools is used in
gvSIG and wondering if more collaboration there is possible.  The
experience in the C/C++ world has been that, at least, data access
libraries and projections libraries are an obvious component to
share between projects and GeoTools seems like the natural repository
for that.

> I send my apologies, I can't make the timeslot for the next incubator 
> meeting.

I was afraid of that, and I appologise for the timing.  I appreciate
your contributing by email.

Best regards,
-- 
---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGeo, http://osgeo.org