[QGIS-Developer] The need for intuitive complex feature edit support in QGIS 3+
Matthias Kuhn
matthias at opengis.ch
Tue Jan 9 07:43:06 PST 2018
I haven't been working a lot with Inspire but we recently started to
work more and more with Interlis, which is a Swiss standard but should
be quite similar. After all it's an object oriented modelling language,
also with a UML designer.
The workflow in general is:
- Take a model (interlis)
- Import it into a postgis database (ili2pg)
- Create QGIS project to work with this database (QGIS configuration)
- Use QGIS to work with the data
- Export it into an .xtf interlis exchange file (ili2pg)
We have been working on a plugin called "project generator" which reads
postgis database schemas and preconfigures QGIS projects with relations,
field configuration and more [1]. It reads any kind of postgis database
and reads meta information. If additional Interlis meta information is
around (ili2db creates additional tables) it will also take this into
account.
I could very well imagine that a similar approach is possible with
Inspire data. It's a matter of bringing the data into a postgis
database, extracting additional meta information and exposing this to a
QGIS project (possibly also integrating this into the projectgenerator
plugin which is built quite modular).
And then, there's still plenty of things left to do concerning
enhancements to sublayers, forms and plenty of other things which can
potentially reside under the same umbrella but can be implemented step
by step.
My 2c
Matthias
[1] https://opengisch.github.io/projectgenerator/docs/en/
On 01/09/2018 04:13 PM, Régis Haubourg wrote:
> Rui, I would formulate that differently.
> I have been working with INSPIRE datasets tooand a bit involved in some
> hydrography model workgroups.
>
> IMO, gml is nice because it allows to fully respect the UML design and
> offer theoretical interoperability. Seems become darker when trying to
> use it for real interoperability and everyday's use.
> It is not meant to be a physical implementation for editing. It is
> extremely hard to work with, with because of cascaded schema
> dependencies, XML heaviness, lack of index, very wide possibilities of
> spatial object modeling (so much ways to describe a simple box is crazy).
> So to me, the GML is a exchange format, and should be implemented in a
> transactional DB for editing , or simply for fast reading. That's why
> BRGM approach relying on a spatial DB for real use sounds a goopd
> strategy to me.
> A bit like UML model of database can be used directly and needs to
> implemented in a physical model in a relational database for real work.
>
> Regards,
> régis
>
>
> 2018-01-09 15:39 GMT+01:00 Rui Cavaco <rpcavaco at gmail.com
> <mailto:rpcavaco at gmail.com>>:
>
> Thanks for your response Régis.
>
> Yes, I read the documentation for that project. I think that's a
> good, but small, starting point. Anyway the docs mention that "the
> aim is to develop tools to manipulate Complex Features streams in a
> GIS desktop application.". So they might be seeking for something
> bigger.
>
> It seems that there are now some solutions, including that extension
> you mentioned, to consume complex data. But we see little, or
> none, efforts on how to produce such data. I think current user
> interfaces are not adapted to the complex feature universe.
>
> Thanks for your suggestion. I should directly contact the GMLAS
> project team.
>
>
> Best regards
>
> Rui Cavaco
>
> Régis Haubourg <regis.haubourg at gmail.com
> <mailto:regis.haubourg at gmail.com>> escreveu no dia terça, 9/01/2018
> às 13:46:
>
> Hi Rui,
> did you have a look at this project ?
> https://github.com/BRGM/gml_application_schema_toolbox
> <https://github.com/BRGM/gml_application_schema_toolbox>
>
> I think you purchase the very same goal, a common approach seems
> a good idea !
> Regards,
> Régis
>
> 2018-01-09 1:17 GMT+01:00 Rui Cavaco <rpcavaco at gmail.com
> <mailto:rpcavaco at gmail.com>>:
>
> Hello list.
>
> My name is Rui Cavaco, a supporter for OSGeo Portugal, and I
> see the need for some future major changes in desktop GIS
> user interfaces in order to facilitate complex features
> editing and querying.
>
> GML and INSPIRE are about complex features but so are fiber
> optic networks. Complex features could be also very
> productive in simpler cases like the management of city road
> signs and indications and other municipality themes.
> In order to properly support complex features I think we
> need to go further than the simple and old three-part GUI
> comprising TOC, map and attribute table. For example,
> attribute and form views must have "drill down"
> capabilities. As for the TOC, subdivding layers, as the
> GMLAS extension does, is not enough. Something like
> tree-view windows showing object hierarchies and complex
> objects' internal contents must exist. This is the exact
> same as schematics / synoptic views provided by specialized
> "closed source" GIS tools provided for telecom and other
> utilities management. Also I think the TOC should be very
> interactive and adaptive, in order to make possible to
> expose the intrincacies of sublayers without cluttering the
> whole layer tree with details uneeded for the current user
> context.
>
> Me and others discussing this subject in OSGeo-PT chat, we
> are convinced that without a largely available and intuitive
> editing support for complex features INSPIRE will soon be
> (some say already is) dead, despite all the the EU legal
> obligations.
>
> I suppose this is not a job for a single developer or a
> small team. I imagine this might require some profound
> changes in QGIS. I don't think that all these GUI changes
> mentioned could be "compacted" in just an extension.
>
> Funding for this effort could be raised from
> INSPIRE-interested EU organizations and member state
> government agencies. Also telecom companies and other
> utilities managers can be interested. Dedicated "closed
> source" GIS solutions for utilities are so absurdly
> expensive that this can open an opportunity window for Open
> Source based solutions.
>
> I would like to join efforts with others sharing this vision
> in order to help make it happen in future releases of QGIS.
>
> Rui Cavaco
>
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