In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

Here's the recent FOSS4G geonews.

In open source software updates:

• GEOS, the Geometry Engine Open Source, got to version 3.3.6
• The popular GeoServer got to version 2.2.2
• Another bug fix release is the OpenGeo Suite version 3.0.1
• It's not the end, GeoTools 8.4 was released

In the everything else category:

• Here's an entry on the GeoServer CSS module, that presents itself as an alternative and improvement over the SLD (Style Layer Descriptor) OGC standard: "GeoServer CSS is inspired by the web—and by great tools like Carto, Cascadenik, and MapCSS. Like these tools it provides a concise styling syntax modeled on CSS but differs in that it’s goal is to improve the experience relative to SLD while preserving CSS concepts like cascading. While we ultimately aspire to a common CSS-like styling language for web cartography, we hope that GeoServer CSS is much easier than SLD and will be familiar enough for web designers to use."
• Arnulf links to the SplashMaps Kickstarter project that uses open data, "real outdoors maps; based on open data, on light, weather friendly fabric" (image below)
• Geoff shares an entry on the Cesium open source WebGL virtual globe and mapping Javascript library, we mentioned Cesium before
• You can now connect ArcGIS to the open source TileMill with Arc2Earth Sync
• I learned a new term today, here's an entry named Improving Population Density Maps Using Dasymetric Mapping
• Here's a Money Journey map that visualize transactions with the Open Bank Project data
• Here's an update on the Geometry Clipping Contest, and QGIS beats ArcGIS
• You heard of it already, but here's again on the topic, Why are we building OpenLayers 3?

Here's the recent open source-related geonews in batch mode.

In software updates:

• GeoServer 2.1.4 had been released
• And so was GeoTools 2.7.5 released

• Geopaparazzi 3 has been released too, more here
• And as an indirect user of it, I'm happy that GEOS 3.3.4 was released too
• The OpenGeo Suite 2.5 was released, with updated Linux packages

In other news:

• If you missed it, see this informative comment from the DB4GeO developers, including comparing it to PostGIS 2.0 3D capabilities
• Regarding QGIS, here's fixing invalid geometries with Quantum GIS, another entry named SLD Support and other QGIS 1.8 Style Features
• For GeoServer, Accurate datum shift and full transformation control in GeoServer
• Here,s a summary of the FOSS4G-CEE Conference in Prague

• Here's an entry named GeoWebCache Tweaks Checklist

• And we haven't mentioned OpenStreetMap yet, improving the OpenStreetMap Profile Page for more Social Interaction

Still in my geonews catching up process, here's the open source-related geonews not shared yet.

• Via LinkedIn I learned about HSLayers and Proxy4OWS,
  • For HSLayers: "HSLayers is yet another JavaScript Mapping framework. You can use it for building rich mapping portals, as well as use it’s parts for improving your simple OpenLayers-based map."
  • For Proxy4OWS: "It is transforming OGC WMS request types from the client, into WCS or WFS requests, so that the target server can accept them."
• For OpenStreetMap, I liked the 'Worst of OSM' page showing failed imports, I guess we wouldn't see this from proprietary providers (via)
• For those unable to move to 2.0, PostGIS 1.5.4 was released
• If you want to learn about GeoExt 2 development
• GeoNode 1.1.1 was released
• And so was MapProxy 1.4.0
• As an indirect user of GEOS, I'm happy that GEOS graduated OSGeo incubation
• The OSGeo also informed us of the First Open Source Geospatial Laboratory in South America and First African Open Source Geospatial Laboratory
• You might have an interest in the Comprehensive preview of MapGuide Open Source 2.4 series
• libais 0.7 was released: "C++ decoder for Automatic Identification System for tracking ships and decoding maritime information"
• APB informs us  that the famous AP, Associated Press, is moving to TileMill and Leaflet for their interactive maps

​This batch mode edition is unusually long. It covers the past month and a bit more. Yes, that's way too much and I won't try to repeat the experience ;-) Here's what I considered pertinent enough to share with you. Exceptionally, in some cases I haven't gave attribution to the source of the news, thank you for your comprehension.

On the geospatial open source front:

• I just recently became aware of PostGISonline, a site for testing and learning spatial SQL
• You can now create and manipulate SLD (the OGC Styled Layer Descriptor standard) in Python with python-sld
• Via the AGISRS list, I learned about OpenQuake.org, for calculating seismic hazard and risk at any scale, which of course ingest geospatial data and outputs maps
• Here's WherePost.ca, which crowdsources the location of mailboxes and post offices for Canada
• Here's the Switch2OSM website promoting OpenStreetMap, OpenStreetMap might go indoor too
• Still on the OSM topic, V1 shares an entry on the use of OpenStreetMap data in agriculture
• Here's an entry on the future of GeoCouch and CouchDB
• GeoServer gets database-level security
• There's now a plugin to run Python scripts in QGIS
• Here's about improvements to the QGIS rule-based rendering
• On a similar topic, here's a guide to beautiful reliefs in QGIS
• Did you know you can add Google Maps, OSM, and Bing Maps directly in QGIS? You can via the OpenLayers plugin - hey, there's even a Profile plugin
• There's an updated book published by Gary Sherman, now named The Geospatial Desktop , subtitled Open source GIS and mapping
• GEOS 3.3.2 has been released

On the Esri front:

• Mandown shares how to convert GPX files to Features using ArcGIS 10
• From the same source, Learn The Basics Of Working With The ArcGIS Runtime SDK For Android
• There were updates to ArcGIS for SharePoint, ArcGIS Mobile and to the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone
• James and SS talks about ArcGIS Online as the Esri Content Management System

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced a few new Bing Maps features, such as traffic incidents and find near route
• They announced the Bing Maps Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Control v1
• There's new Bing Maps V7 modules too along with a new routing engine
• James Fee shares an interesting entry named Bing Maps gets Nokia Brand and Possibly the Boot

On the remote sensing front:

• This is pretty interesting to many: SS shares an entry named USGS Now Offers OrbView-3 High-Resolution Images for Free, 180,000 scenes at 1m spatial resolution available
• China launched their first high-resolution remote sensing satellite, Ziyuan I-02C
• Slashdot discussed the newly released version of Blue Marble high definition (and beautiful) satellite image of the Earth from the Suomi NPP satellite
• Slashdot is running a story named Who's Flying Those Drones? FAA Won't Say and related, O'Reilly mentions OpenPilot, open source UAV with cameras
• And another named Launch Your Own Nanosatellite Into Space

On the GNSS / GPS front:

• It's coming, car makers are preparing for augmented reality driving
• Not exactly GPS but via radio-tagging, see the nice and short video of whale 3D paths in the ocean
• Slashdot is also discussing a story named New Mexico Is Stretching, GPS Reveals
• MapQuest launched an html5 app-like site for Android and iPhone for using MapQuest

In the miscellaneous category:

• The 7 geo predictions for 2012 of Cédric are interesting 
• Microsoft's Flight Simulator, renamed Flight, will be available for free next Spring, with paid extra content
• We never mentioned it before, but now Indiemapper is free, it "helps you make static, thematic maps from geographic data by bringing the best of traditional cartographic design to internet map-making."
• SS mentions the new alliance between Autodesk and Pitney Bowes, APB also discuss this new relationship
• SS also shares an entry named Safe Software’s Expanded Role as a Conduit Between Sensors and Systems
• The U.S. EPA in their Locations Challenge introduced a crowdsourcing project of georeferenced photos of environmental problems
• Slashdot ran a discussion on assembling your own 3D printer
• The OGC shared a summary of the Eye on Earth Summit held in December
• Another OGC entry was named Status of the OGC's Water Resource Activities
• DM shares an article named GIS Adoption and Use on College Campuses: An End-of-Year Review and Look Ahead to 2012
• The GEB mentions a new 3D San Francisco website
• I found interesting the possibility of a .data TLD
• A new free iPad app: GeoViewer from LizardTech, supports MrSID format and more
• It's been a while since we mentioned them, GISCorps were recently in 7 countries, including Libya

In the maps category:

• APB summarizes this: Comparing Maps of Obesity and Car Travel
• Here's an entry on cleanly using symbols on maps
• Here's U.S. routes as a subway map and the U.S. National Wind Energy Map
• Fox News shared a map with missing or wrongly placed countries
• TMR shares an obligatory animated map of rising global temperatures since 1880

Here's recent geospatial open source software releases. All minor but welcomed updates.

• QGIS 1.7.1 released, to be honest, I only recently started using QGIS for real work, and I've been impressed by the advanced features that worked flawlessly (but I wasn't impressed by the user documentation though) 
• GeoServer 2.1.2 released, mostly a bugfix release, here's previous recent GeoServer news
• GEOS 3.3.1 released, GEOS is the C port of the JTS and incorporated into many other geospatial open source projects, see this previous story
• GeoTools 2.7.3 released, that too, a maintenance release

With GEOS 3.2 released in 2009, it's nice to have GEOS 3.3.0 now released. This link also provide details on the JTS features missing in GEOS. Here's the full change list for GEOS 3.3.0. In short, in addition to the usual bug fixes, "this release introduces a fair amount of new C-API interfaces and a brand new PHP binding."

A reminder of what GEOS is: "GEOS (Geometry Engine - Open Source) is a C++ port of the  Java Topology Suite (JTS). As such, it aims to contain the complete functionality of JTS in C++. This includes all the  OpenGIS Simple Features for SQL spatial predicate functions and spatial operators, as well as specific JTS enhanced topology functions. GEOS is available under the terms of  GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)."

It was just last week that we announced the JSTS project, the JavaScript port of the JTS.