In my last post I created a poll to get an idea of the extent of migration to open source GIS on the desktop. The results indicated that nearly 50% of the people using open source GIS were still using their proprietary software as well. You can view the results of the poll using the Polls Archive link below the current poll. This leads one to wonder if it is the state of the open source software or other reasons that prevent a full migration.

I keep seeing more evidence that many people and organizations are migrating to open source GIS on the desktop. In many cases a mix of proprietary and open source GIS is in use. I’m wondering about other’s experiences in this area. To gain some insight, I’ve created a poll (right margin). Please take a second and vote.

$ uptime 20:20:56 up 434 days, 15:31, 2 users, load average: 2.32, 0.89, 0.53

We’ve released version 3.1 of the Plugin Builder for QGIS 3.x. This version contains a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements. Here are some of the changes included since version 3.0.3: Fix issue with reload on generated plugins Move dialog creation to run method to improve startup performance Move help file generation files to proper method Include missing tags file Attempt to compile resources.qrc when plugin is generated (requires pyrcc5 in path) Set deployment directory in Makefile based on user OS (pb_tool is recommended over make) Check for valid URL format for tracker and repository Compiling Resource File If you have the resource compiler pyrcc5 in your path, the resource file will be compiled automatically when you generate your new plugin.

The PyQGIS Programmer’s Guide is now available in both paperback and PDF. A sample chapter is also available for download. The book is fully compatible with the QGIS 2.x series of releases. See locatepress.com for details.

Take a look at: The Volcano and the Buffer It includes an example that uses CSV, GDAL/OGR VRT, QGIS, and fTools to figure out if I was in danger of being buried in a volcanic ash fall (not much danger but sounds dramatic).

One of the hurdles in developing a QGIS plugin with Python is just getting the basics down. Getting the plugin setup so it is recognized by QGIS and properly adds it’s menu and toolbar items can be a bit of a chore, especially the first time. To make the process easier, I put together a web tool to generate a plugin that can be used as a starting point. The tool creates a fully functional plugin that can be loaded in QGIS 1.

The recent release of QGIS 1.0 provides an excellent opportunity for developers looking to create standalone mapping applications with Python. I recently posted an article on creating a very simple standalone application with Python and QGIS 1.0. Much of the Python efforts thus far have been devoted to creating QGIS plugins. I think now that we have a stable API, you’ll begin to see more custom applications that meet a specialized need.

Looks like the ink is dry on Desktop GIS and it should start shipping soon. You can get the full scoop from the Pragmatic Bookshelf. Update: It’s now shipping. See the announcement.

This week we highlight the Points to Paths plugin, a handy way to convert a series of points into line features. This plugin lets you “connect the dots” based on an common attribute and a sequence field. The attribute field determines which points should be grouped together into a line. The sequence field determines the order in which the points will connected. The output from this plugin is a shapefile.

After a rather long lapse, I had the occasion to write some Java code recently (mainly because it didn’t look like Howard’s PySDE was functional). I didn’t like it. Not to start a language flame war, but after using Python almost exclusively for 6 months, I found Java to be cumbersome. I kept thinking “if it were Python I could do it this way”. Sending an email from Java–frightening. From Python–simple.

This minor update to the Plugin Builder allows you to choose where your plugin menu will be located. Previously your menu was placed under the Plugins menu. At version 2.8.1 you can choose from the following main menu locations: Plugins Database Raster Vector Web Plugins is the default choice when you open Plugin Builder. The value you choose is also written to the category field in your metadata.txt file.

The forum (http://forum.qgis.org) has been closed for new registrations and marked read-only. Users have been encouraged to use http://gis.stackexchange.com instead. If you have an thoughts on the closure, good, bad, or otherwise, please comment.

I’ve had to lower my expectations of the Open Source GIS user community. Now that I have your attention, I’ll explain. The OSGIS user community by and large is composed of a great bunch of folks. Its the few that have soured my outlook a bit. I repeatedly see posts to mailing lists blasting one application or the other (usually not to the project’s own list but another). The software stinks, doesn’t work right, the developers are stupid, its not as good as X, Y, or Z, and so forth.

This weekend I finished reviewing Pragmatic Version Control Using Git by Travis Swicegood. If you are a git user or interested in learning about the latest in version control for your source code, check it out. The book is available in beta now.

Using the git log leading up to the 1.7 release (June 2011) I put together a graphic that shows the growth of committers working on the project. In 2002 we had two people (me alone up until October). You can see significant jumps in developer interest in 2004 and 2008: In 2004 there were a number of releases that added significant functionality Following an announcement at FOSS4G 2007 in Victoria we released 0.

This site aims to bring out some of the latest and sometimes not-so-greatest happenings in the GIS world. We’ll focus to large extent on Open Source software but hopefully mix it up to keep things interesting. We’ll explore things from the new and exciting to the dull and mundane. There are a lot of GIS/Spatial sites out there. Hopefully we can provide some content of interest and you will add this one to those you visit frequently.

QgisToMapServer converts a saved QGIS project file to a map file, ready to be served with MapServer. A binary preview version for both Mac and Windows is available now. For Linux/Unix users, the source code is available from the Git repository. QgisToMapServer is different from the plugin in QGIS. It is a standalone Python application providing the following features: Create MapServer map files from saved QGIS project files Preview the map file (requires shp2img)

The book is now available in beta. Excerpts from two of the chapters are available online. What’s a beta book? Well in this case it’s a lot like software—feature complete and ready for you to give it a spin. The announcement from the Pragmatic Bookshelf: The Pragmatic Bookshelf | Desktop GIS “From Google Maps to iPhone apps, geographic data and visualization is quickly becoming a standard part of life. Desktop GIS shows you how to assemble and use an Open Source GIS toolkit.

This week we look at a newly arrived plugin named qNote. This plugin allows you to create a note and store it in a QGIS project file. When the project is loaded, the note is restored and can be viewed in the qNote panel. This little plugin provides a way to attach metadata to a project. Things you might want to include in a note are: Content of the project Purpose Area of interest Where the data came from Who created the project This information can be helpful when sharing a project or when you forget what you did six months after the fact.