QGIS & GRASS:

Do we need FOSS GIS?

WAML Spring Meeting

May 2011

UBC Vancouver

Daniel Brendle-Moczuk, UVic Libraries

FOSS-GIS

Outline

-Define FOSS-GIS

-Why consider FOSS-GIS?

-Background / history GRASS & QGIS

-Vector & Raster software function examples

-use software to construct a map for visual analysis

-computational query and then visual analysis

-advanced computational spatial analysis

-Strengths / Deficiencies / Problems

-Conclusion / Recommendations / Summary

FOSS desktop GIS

ESRI GIS history

-early 1980s:

ARC/INFO: command-line

-mid 1990s:

ArcView: graphical user interface (GUI)

-late 1990s: Arc 8.x

-2010: Arc 10.0

GRASS / Quantum GIS

-early 1980s:

GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System)

-US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL)

-command-line

-mid 1990s:

US Army CERL ended involvement with GRASS with 4.1

-late 1990s:

GRASS 5.0 (GUI) with public license

-early 2000s:

Quantum GIS began with some developers from GRASS

-2011: QGIS 1.6 & GRASS 6.4

GRASS & QGIS supported data formats

-Vector formats from OGR library including…

-ESRI shapefiles, e00

-AutoCad .dxf

-MapInfo .mif, .tab

-.gml

-.kml

-Raster formats supported by GDAL library including…

-USGS .dem

-Erdas .img

-.bmp, .gif, .jpg, .png, .tif

-Arc/Info ASCII .asc

-Grid .grd

QGIS Vector OGR file formats

QGIS Raster GDAL file formats

QGIS: usual Vector Tools (Victoria CMA: Avenues Rds Streets)

QGIS: usual Vector Tools (UVic campus)

Winnipeg 1971 CTs: % Households w/ Colour TV & Avg.Family Income

QGIS export to .kml (on GE)

Solution: Shp2kml (1971 Winnipeg: % Households Ukrainian origin)

QGIS: Create new shapefile

QGIS: Create new shapefile

QGIS: Create new shapefile

BC Vegetation Resource Inventory: ArcMap

ArcMap: Select by Attribute

ArcMap: Select by Attribute

QGIS: Select by Attribute

QGIS “Plug-Ins”

QGIS Plug-Ins: Georeferencer (UVic campus did not exist in 1954!)

QGIS: GDAL Raster tools

QGIS: Display .dem

QGIS: Assign Projection to .dem

QGIS: Projected .dem: Shadowing

(QGIS) GRASS: need to create directory of:

-Database

-Location

-MapSet

w/ Projection

AND then import the geo-spatial files

(QGIS) GRASS: Vector Analysis Tools

(QGIS) GRASS: Extensive Raster Analysis Tools

Hiking uphill with an 8 yr.old: Least Cost Route

QGIS: Web Map Service (WMS)

WMS: BC Terrain Resource Information Management (TRIM): Whistler, BC

WMS: DFO Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) Charts

Web Feature Services (WFS) geo-spatial data: Connect to the data

QGIS Map Composer

ArcMap 10: Bing Hybrid Layer

QGIS 1.6 OpenLayers Plug-in: Google Hybrid layer

ArcMap 10: Bing Maps Hybrid (Miranda, Brasil)

QGIS 1.6: Google Maps Hybrid (Miranda, Brasil)

Conclusion / Recommendations / Summary

“The change to open source requires a different mindset. Rather than

one program or one suite of programs delivering everything you

need, you go over to different programs that all communicate with

each other and use the same (standard) protocols and data formats.”

-Respond and recommend according to the needs of our students

-Geography

-Anthropology

-Biology

-Business

…they all have different needs…

Conclusion / Recommendations / Summary

“As adopters of open source technology, academic libraries should

consider adding FOSS GIS and becoming involved with the open

source movement.

GIS and data librarians are in a unique position as they gain familiarity

with several applications of GIS under many circumstances, since they

have patrons from many different fields whose needs for GIS range

from basic to advanced.”(Donnelly, 2010)

Geo-Spatial Data Sources

Bird Studies Canada. Bird Studies WFS.

British Columbia. GeoBC Information Services. Base Mapping and Trim WMS.

British Columbia. Ministry of Forests and Range. Vegetation Resources Inventory.

Canada Department of Fisheries & Oceans. GeoPortal WMS.

Natural Resources Canada. Canadian Digital Elevation Data.

062H/14e, 82O/04e

Natural Resources Canada. CanVec & National Topographic Data Base.

92B/11

Statistics Canada. 1971 Census of Population: Winnipeg Census Tracts.

CHASS Canadian Census Analyser.

Statistics Canada. 1971 Census of Population: Winnipeg Census Tract Boundary Files.

Statistics Canada. 2010 Road Network File.

Selected Sources

Chen, D. et al. (2010). Assessment of open source GIS software for water resources

management in developing countries. Journal of Hydro-environment Research 4(3), 253-264.

Donnelly, F.P. (2010). Evaluating open source GIS for libraries. Library Hi Tech 28 (1), 131-151.

Open Source Technology & ESRI. (2011). ARC News 33(1): 14.

Ming-Hsiang Tsou & Jennifer Smith. (2011). Free and Open Source Software for GIS education.

Sherman, G.E. (2008). Desktop GIS: Mapping the planet with open source tools. Raleigh, N.C.:

Pragmatic Bookshelf .

Steiniger, S. & Bocher, E. (2009). An overview on current free and open source desktop GIS

developments. International Journal of Geographical Information Science 23(10), 345-1370.

Steiniger, S. & Hunter, A.J.S. [2010]. Teaching GIScience with free and open source software? – A

first assessment. GIScience 2010: 6th Int’l conference Zurich, Sep.14-17.