OSGeo : Professionally leveraging Open Source
Arnulf Christl
An introduction to Open Source, Free Software and the Open Source Geospatial Foundation. The first part of this paper details the inner workings of Open Source development and Free Software licensing. It gives a brief history of the development of software in general and explains why for a brief period of a few decades proprietary business models dominated on the market and how they are increasingly replaced by Open Source. The second part of this paper introduces you to OSGeo's mission, goals and the organizational structure implemented to achieve them. One recent achievement of the educational sector of OSGeo is the Geo-For-All initiative which lead to the emergence of OSGeo-ICA labs all around the world. They provide access and facilities to Open Source geospatial software, infrastructure and curricula. In the third part we will give an overview of the currently available Open Source tools, programs and software stacks around OSGeo, how and where to get them. The software is collected and bundled on the OSGeo Live distribution available for download and immediate use. OSGeo Live contains software ranging from a full blown spatial data infrastructure to highly specialized tools for data import, manipulation and export and is available completely free of licensing costs. All software is ready to go and is used in professional contexts all around the world. Explore OSGeo on you own by visiting the web site at http://osgeo.org.
Event: XXV FIG International Congress : Engaging the Challenges, Enhancing the Relevance
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