% Template GRASS newsletter - Article
% Language: Latex
%

% Head

\begin{article}

\title{gvSIG is a viable robust alternative to commercially
available GIS packages}
%\subtitle{Your article subtitle}
\author{by Simon Cropper}

\maketitle

\section{Abstract	}
\label{sec:abstract}
I have been compelled to comment on the latest release of \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} (Version 1.9, Build 1253) due to the fact that it is the first Open Source Geographical Information System that I have encountered that has allowed me to fulfill the full complement of workflow processes for a typical project without having to use third party software or falling back to commercial software.


\section{Context}
\label{sec:section1}
To provide some context to this statement I wish to provide some
background on myself and my needs. I am an environmental consultant
conducting flora and fauna surveys within Southeastern Australia.
Clients range from local, state or national government agencies or land
developers addressing their legislative obligations. Every job requires
the acquisition and creation of geospatial data, simple geospatial
analysis and the preparation of maps. Every job has variations on the
theme with clients providing information in various datums and formats.
Output is relatively constant with maps being used as JPEGs in reports
or supplied as shapefiles to the client. The typical workflow for a job
is outlined in Table 1.


\section{Background}
\label{sec:section2}
Over the last 15 years I have used ArcView with a myriad of third party
extensions and scripts, but have over the last year been searching for
a reliable and robust alternative. Essentially I needed a package that
could implement the workflow outlined in Table 1, with little or no
need to export and manipulate in other packages and if that was
necessary there was no need to export the data into other formats (i.e.
you can manipulate the same data files rather than have multiple
versions of the same information lying around).

Over the last year I have tried various versions of
\begin{itemize}
\item \href{http://www.qgis.org/}{QGIS}
\item \href{http://grass.itc.it/index.php}{Grass}
\item \href{http://www.opengis.es/}{Kosmo}
\item \href{http://www.openjump.org/}{OpenJUMP}
\end{itemize}
and others to carry out what
I needed. I also tried early versions of
\href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} but found some basic
requirements were not met. Beta versions of 1.9 looked promising but
they were unstable with regular crashes making it difficult to justify
the time to acquaint myself with the program.

As you can see from Table 1 the primary failings of the alternative
packages was the ability to natively view ECW files, being able to
reproject data into new Spatial Reference Systems and map production.
All were variously capable of viewing and manipulating vector data
stored in common vector formats. Packages varied considerably in how
intuitive the interface was and their stability.


\begin{table*}
\begin{center}
%\tablehead{}
\begin{tabular}{|p{0.5\textwidth}|c|c|c|c|c|}
\cline{2-6}
\multicolumn{1}{l|}{ } &
gvSIG+ &
QGIS &
Grass &
Kosmo &
OJUMP+\\
\hline
\multicolumn{6}{|c|}{
STAGE 1 -- DATA ACQUISITION
}
\\
\hline
  Acquire aerial photography of study area and
vector data showing existing features. Only gvSIG and Kosmo had native
support for ECW files. &
 Y &
 Pd &
 Pd &
 Y &
 Yd
\\
\hline
Manipulate the various data sets so they all
overlap in the appropriate Spatial Reference System (i.e. reproject
vector layers). &
Y &
N &
Yd &
N &
N\\
\hline
\multicolumn{6}{|c|}{
STAGE 2 -- PREPARATION FOR FIELDWORK
}
\\
\hline
  Identify extent of study area based on
cadastral data and the objectives of the client. &
Y &
Y &
Yd &
Y &
Y\\\hline
  Extract data from state government managed
databases and geospatial libraries of environmental data like flora,
fauna, vegetation, geology, wetlands, etc. Incorporate into project.
Includes the need to import tables as Event Layers. &
Y &
Y &
Yd &
P &
P\\\hline
  Stratify study area based on aerial photography
interpretation, contours, soils and vegetation data (data just
represented visually, stratification done manually). &
Y &
Y &
Yd &
Y &
Y\\\hline
\multicolumn{6}{|c|}{
STAGE 3 -- FIELD WORK
}
\\
\hline
  Adjust boundaries of strata based on field
observations. &
Y &
Y &
Yd &
Y &
Y\\\hline
  Mark extent of any significant plant population
or animal habitat on base map using features visible on aerial
photography. &
   Y &
   Y &
   Yd &
   Y &
  Y\\\hline
\multicolumn{6}{|c|}{
STAGE 4 -- ANALYSIS
}
\\
\hline
  Clean up the vector data created in the field.
&
 Yd &
 N &
 Yd &
 Y &
 Y\\\hline
  Calculate and store area of each stratum in
attribute table. &
 Y &
 N &
 Yd &
 N &
 N\\\hline
  Collate landscape, neighborhood and other
miscellaneous attributes for each stratum (i.e. direct data entry into
tables and joins). &
 Y &
 N &
 Yd &
 N &
 Y\\\hline
\multicolumn{6}{|c|}{
STAGE 5 -- MAP PRODUCTION
}
\\\hline
Create basic maps showing the results of the
analysis -- the map should have grid lines showing the SRS of the View.
&
 Y &
 P &
 ? &
 P &
 N\\\hline
Export map into format that can be directly
imported into a Word Processor. &
 N &
 Y &
 ? &
 N &
 N\\\hline
\end{tabular}

\end{center}
\label{table:cropperworkflow}
\caption{An outline of the workflow for a typical flora and
fauna survey by Botanicus Australia Pty Ltd and whether certain FOSS
GIS Desktop Packages were capable of completing the tasks. Y = capable.
N = not capable. P = partly capable. d = difficult to achieve (either
not intuitive or needs workaround). gvSIG+ = gvSIG 1.9 + Sextante
0.3. QGIS=QGIS 1.3.0  Mimas . GRASS
= WinGrass 6.3. Kosmo=Kosmo 1.2.1. OJUMP=OpenJUMP 1.3 with Sextante
0.3.}
\end{table*}

\section{Conclusion}
\label{sec:section4}

At the time that this article was being prepared I have been using gvSIG
1.9 (Build 1253) in production for several months. The following points
outline my initial observations on its use.

\begin{enumerate}
\item The transition from ArcView to \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG}
was seamless with most functions being found in similar locations. I
had a similar experience when trialling \href{http://www.opengis.es/}{Kosmo}, but not with any of the other packages mentioned. OpenJUMP is intuitive but limited in functionality.
\item   \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} uses ECW, DWG, DXF, shapefiles -- all file formats I regularly encounter.
\item   \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} can convert from AGD66 GEO/AMG55
to GDA94 GEO/MGA55 -- something I need to do regularly.
\item \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} could handle quite a lot of data,files, annotations, etc. The only time I noticed the system slowing down was in producing a map. In this window, \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} was slow but it did not crash.
\item \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} crashed a few times. These instances appear to be related to small or peculiar bugs not captured
by the program. These issues are being addressed by the developers
relatively quickly. In comparison with ArcView this is quite good. For
some largish projects ArcView would crash 3--4 times a day. It is worth
noting here that I was using ArcView 3.1, which is not currently
supported and is struggling to keep up with operating system changes
(XP service packs, patches, etc).
\item I am keen to eventually migrate from Windows XP to \href{http://www.ubuntu.com/}{Ubuntu} or
\href{http://www.debian.org/}{Debian}, so am keen to ensure the system I use is suitable for these operating systems.
\href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} does, so this is great.
\item I still think the map production facility in gvSIG can be improved --
especially the output. My needs are primarily generation of a file than
can be imported into \href{http://www.openoffice.org/}{OpenOffice}
Writer. I found I got a much better output file for small maps in
landscape by capturing the screen and manipulating in \href{http://www.gimp.org/}{GIMP}, than using any of the standard output options provided by \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG}. With
larger maps or maps in portrait I have found \href{http://code-industry.net/imageprinter.php}{ImagePrinter} to capture printer output works really well. Something worth noting here
was the discovery that the graticules in \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} are actually dynamic. Once set up you can pan the underlying map and the graticule changes - its like
looking through a window. This is a very useful and long awaited functionality I was looking for in a replacement to ArcView.
\item Coupled with Sextante, \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} captures
most of the tasks that I have done over the last 15 years.
\item  I have not been able to find any good tutorials on how to use the
command box when editing a shapefile or the JPython Console. These
features look very promising but without some sort of tutorial,
examples or manuals it is impossible to evaluate these tools. In my
mind this is the only area where ArcView 3.1 is still better than any
open source alternatives as it has quite a large and easily navigated
script library which allows for people to contribute scripts and
extensions for manipulation of spatial data that can be downloaded by
anyone.
\end{enumerate}

The overall result of this trial is that I found the
\href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} loaded with the
\href{http://forge.osor.eu/plugins/wiki/index.php?id=13&type=g}{Sextante}
extension was able to complete all the steps in my work flow diagram
except \textit{Export map into format that can be imported into Word
Processor} but the use of GIMP or ImagePrinter is a quick workaround.
This is better than any other open source package I have trialled over
the last year. Coupled with the myriad of additional tools bundled in
this package and additional extensions that can be downloaded this
version of \href{http://www.gvsig.gva.es/}{gvSIG} has left me smiling.
I can do nearly all things that I want and have lots more to explore
and evaluate for use in my business activities. I would like to
congratulate the developers and the Generalitat Valenciana on a
fantastic product. I look forward to being part of this dynamic open
source community, and helping further the development of this product.



\address{Simon Cropper\\
  Botanicus Australia Pty Ltd\\
  PO Box 160\\
Sunshine, Victoria, Australia 3020\\
  \email{scropper@botanicusaustralia.com.au}}

\end{article}

%%% Local Variables: 
%%% mode: latex
%%% TeX-master: main_document.tex
%%% End: 

