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Open Source Geospatial Foundation

Right. Another document. Apparently, someone thinks the world needs more organized chaos. Let's see what we can salvage from this digital detritus. Don't expect pleasantries. I'm here to translate, not to hold your hand.

Nonprofit Organisation for Mapping

Let's get one thing straight from the outset. This isn't about the Open Geospatial Consortium. That's a different beast entirely, obsessed with standards, probably. This is about something... more.

Open Source Geospatial Foundation

OSGeo. The name itself is a whisper in the wind, a promise of something unburdened by proprietary chains.

  • Founded: February 4, 2006. Nineteen years ago. Ancient history, really. The world was a different place then, perhaps less… saturated.
  • Founders: Arnulf Christl, Chris Holmes, Gary Lang, Markus Neteler, Frank Warmerdam. A collection of individuals who saw a void, I suppose. Or perhaps just got tired of the status quo.
  • Founded at: Chicago, US. A city of steel and ambition. Fitting, I suppose.
  • Type: NGO. Non-profit. Non-governmental. Which means they operate outside the usual grubby hands of corporate or state control. A noble, if ultimately futile, pursuit.
  • Purpose: To champion open source geospatial software and data. Because why should the secrets of the earth be locked away behind paywalls and NDAs?
  • Region Served: Global. The world is a map, and they want it to be accessible. A naive ambition, perhaps, but one with a certain grim charm.
  • President: Angelos Tzotsos. R.O.R. Id: ror.org Names and numbers. They matter, I suppose, to some.
  • Volunteers: 30,000+. A staggering number. All those hours, all that effort. For what? To democratize data. Fascinating.
  • Website: osgeo.org. The digital address for this particular brand of idealism.

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation, or OSGeo as it insists on being called, is a non-profit non-governmental organization. Its stated mission is to foster and advance the collaborative development of open geospatial technologies and data. It was brought into existence in February 2006, a deliberate attempt to provide crucial financial, organizational, and legal scaffolding for the sprawling, often chaotic, world of Libre/Free and open-source geospatial endeavors. It also functions as a neutral, independent entity, a safe harbor where contributions – be it code, funding, or sheer willpower – can be deposited without fear of corporate appropriation or intellectual property squabbles.

OSGeo’s governance structure is, in part, a nod to the Apache Foundation. It operates with a membership base, individuals drawn from the various projects under its umbrella, their selection based on a demonstrable, active commitment to the foundation's work. It's not about popularity contests; it's about contribution.

But OSGeo’s ambitions stretch beyond mere software development. They advocate for greater open access to government-generated geospatial information, champion the principles of FAIR_data for geodata, and actively support the vast, collaborative undertaking that is the OpenStreetMap project. Education and training are also on their agenda. It's a multifaceted approach, orchestrated by various committees, each wrestling with the complexities of their specific strategies.

Governance

The OSGeo Foundation is, by its very nature, a creature of the community. Its organizational framework is built on elected members and a board of nine directors, the president among them. [1] Crucially, each software project operating under the OSGeo banner is required to maintain its own distinct governance structure. This is not negotiable. The community converses, argues, and collaborates through Wiki pages, Mailing Lists, and the ever-present hum of IRC. It's a digital ecosystem, messy but functional.

Projects

The software under the OSGeo umbrella isn't just a collection of disparate tools. There's an inherent interoperability, a potential for these projects to communicate with each other and with other geographical applications. It's a network, a web of interconnected capabilities.

Geospatial Libraries

  • FDO: An API (in C++ and .Net) that acts as a bridge between GIS applications and various data sources. It’s designed for manipulating, defining, and analyzing geospatial data. Think of it as a translator, ensuring different systems can understand each other.
  • GDAL/OGR: Another crucial library acting as an intermediary. GDAL handles the reading and writing of raster geospatial data formats, while OGR does the same for simple features vector data. It’s the fundamental layer for data access.
  • GeoTools: A comprehensive open-source GIS toolkit written in Java. Its purpose is to empower the creation of interactive geographic visualization clients. It provides the building blocks for beautiful, dynamic maps.
  • GEOS: A C++ port of the Java Topology Suite (JTS). At its core, it’s a robust geometry model, essential for performing spatial operations.
  • MetaCRS: This project deals with projections and coordinate system technologies. It includes the indispensable PROJ library, the backbone for transforming coordinates across different spatial references.
  • Orfeo ToolBox (OTB): A suite of open-source tools dedicated to processing satellite imagery and extracting meaningful information from it. It's for those who look at the Earth from above and want to understand what they're seeing.
  • OSSIM: Stands for the Open Source Satellite Image Processing. It offers extensive libraries for geospatial image processing, with specific support for satellite and aerial sensors, as well as common image formats. It’s about seeing the details.
  • PostGIS: This isn't just a spatial extension; it's a fundamental enhancement for the PostgreSQL database. It imbues PostgreSQL with the power to perform complex geospatial queries, turning a relational database into a spatial powerhouse.

Desktop Applications

  • QGIS: The flagship desktop GIS. It's a comprehensive tool for viewing, editing, and analyzing geospatial data. Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It’s the everyday workhorse for many geographers.
  • GRASS GIS: An extensible GIS system renowned for its capabilities in image processing and the analysis of raster, topological vector, and graphic data. It’s powerful, and perhaps a bit intimidating for the uninitiated.
  • OSSIM: (Yes, again) Beyond its library functions, OSSIM also provides applications for processing imagery, maps, terrain, and vector data. It’s versatile, a Swiss Army knife for spatial data.
  • Marble: More than just a map, Marble is a virtual globe and world atlas. It brings the planet to your screen in an interactive, explorable format.
  • gvSIG: A desktop GIS designed for capturing, storing, handling, analyzing, and deploying spatial data. It includes robust map editing capabilities.

Web Mapping

Server

  • MapServer: A high-performance web mapping engine, written in C, designed for publishing spatial data and services on the web. It’s fast, efficient, and a cornerstone of many web mapping solutions.
  • Geomajas: A development platform for creating sophisticated web-based and cloud-based GIS applications. It’s for building the next generation of online mapping experiences.
  • GeoServer: This application allows users to easily share and edit geospatial data. Written in Java, it leverages the power of GeoTools to provide robust OGC-compliant web services.
  • deegree: A Java framework for building geospatial web services.
  • PyWPS: An implementation of the OGC Web Processing Service standard, written in Python. It allows for the execution of geospatial processing tasks over the web.
  • pygeoapi: A Python server implementation designed to serve geospatial data through the OGC API standards. It’s about modernizing access to spatial information.

Client

  • GeoMoose: A JavaScript framework specifically for displaying distributed GIS data on the web. It brings disparate data sources together in a single, coherent view.
  • Mapbender: A comprehensive framework for displaying, overlaying, editing, and managing distributed Web Map Services. Built with PHP and JavaScript, it offers a flexible way to interact with web maps.
  • MapGuide Open Source: A platform for developing and deploying web mapping applications and geospatial web services. It’s Windows-based and utilizes its own native file format.
  • MapFish: A framework for building rich, interactive web-mapping applications, built upon the Pylons Python web framework.
  • OpenLayers: An AJAX library, essentially an API, that provides access to geographic data layers of all kinds. It’s the engine behind many dynamic web maps.

Specification

  • Tile Map Service (TMS): A specification that defines how to serve tiled web maps. It’s a fundamental standard for efficient map delivery.

Metadata Catalog

  • GeoNetwork opensource: A catalog for managing and discovering geospatial metadata.
  • pycsw: A lightweight Python implementation for publishing and discovering metadata, adhering to OGC standards.

Content Management Systems

  • GeoNode: A platform for managing and publishing geospatial data and web applications.

Outreach Projects

  • Geo for All: A global network of educators dedicated to promoting Open Source geospatial solutions. They aim to make this technology accessible to everyone.
  • OSGeoLive: A bootable DVD, USB drive, or Virtual Machine image that comes pre-loaded with all the essential OSGeo software. It’s a ready-made sandbox for exploration.
  • OSGeo4W: A binary distribution that bundles a wide array of open-source geospatial software specifically for Windows users. It simplifies installation and management.

Retired Projects

  • Community MapBuilder [3]. Some projects, like old ghosts, fade away.

Events

The FOSS4G ribbon. A symbol, they say, of connection.

OSGeo hosts an annual international conference known as FOSS4G – Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial. This event, dating back to at least 2006, has grown significantly, attracting over 1100 attendees in Boston in 2017, with a clear upward trend. It serves as the primary nexus for OSGeo members, supporters, and newcomers – a place for sharing knowledge, learning new techniques through hands-on workshops, and engaging with exhibitors. The FOSS4G ribbon, a recurring visual motif, is intended to represent the dynamic flow of ideas, innovation, and shared progress within the open-source geospatial community. The genesis of this event can be traced back to a crucial in-person meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2004, involving the three original architects of the event: Venkatesh Raghavan, Markus Neteler, and Jeff McKenna. It was there that the vision for a new, annual gathering for the entire open-source geospatial world was conceived, and the event was christened "FOSS4G." This conference, in its own quiet way, has gone on to influence the trajectory of the geospatial industry.

Beyond this flagship international event, numerous regional and local gatherings echo the FOSS4G philosophy, spreading the message and fostering local communities. [4]

Community

The OSGeo community is a global tapestry, woven from threads of diverse backgrounds and locations. As of May 24, 2020, the foundation’s mailing lists, numbering over 384, boasted more than 35,176 unique subscribers. By September 2012, the collective codebase of OSGeo projects had surpassed 12.7 million lines of code, contributed by 657 distinct individuals, with 301 of them having made contributions within the preceding twelve months. [5] It’s a testament to sustained effort, a quiet revolution built line by line.

Sol Katz Award

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is an annual accolade bestowed by OSGeo upon individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership within the GFOSS community. Recipients are recognized for their significant contributions, the tangible ways they have advanced open-source ideals in the geospatial domain.

See also