14.09.2012 17:08 · GIS · qgis, processing
Attempts to import SEXTANTE from its SVN repository into the QGIS repository on GitHub with the history intact are a thing of the past. Also in the past were numerous fixes for bugs that appeared after the import, writing build rules, and fixing issues caused by the directory structure change. SEXTANTE is now officially included in QGIS as a core plugin.
Thanks to Victor, Tim, Camilo. Well, and me too :-).
16.08.2012 18:16 · GIS · qgis, processing
Together with Victor, we have implemented in SEXTANTE the ability to save output to any OGR-compatible format or memory layer and to set the output data encoding. The only thing missing is the ability to set dataset and layer creation options. In the future, we plan to add support for saving results to spatial databases.
In the meantime, we are fixing bugs and making sure that all the algorithms are fully functional. In particular, there are 16 algorithms in fTools that are still untested.
09.08.2012 11:33 · GIS · qgis, ftools, processing
Reviewed 19 fTools tools in two groups: cleaned up the code, fixed some bugs, optimised a bit. There is still as much to do. Then test and if no critical bugs appear, I will commit.
01.08.2012 14:23 · GIS · qgis, ftools, processing
SEXTANTE will soon become part of QGIS: the code freeze in the old repository and the migration are scheduled for 20th August. After the migration, only the Java-related part will remain in the old repository, while QGIS will get a new core plugin.
In this context, I have decided to revise the fTools provider code, synchronise it with the original utilities, and generally prepare for migration and code removal in any way possible. I will be happy if someone helps with testing and is willing to publish plugin package with the latest fixes.
25.07.2012 17:12 · GIS, Notes · qgis, processing
Four patches + an elegant solution to a problem, and… I became a full member of the development team of the SEXTANTE project.
20.07.2012 19:09 · GIS · qgis, plugins
One type of data used in GIS is geotagged photos, i.e., photos whose metadata includes the coordinates of the location where the photo was taken. But there are not many tools for working with such photos in QGIS: all that comes to mind are eVis, photo2shape and its little-known ideological parent, ImagesToShape. In principle, these two modules are sufficient for many tasks. You can use photo2shape to map the locations of photos and use eVis to view geotagged photos and link them or other documents to features of a vector layer. Sooner or later, however, a task will arise for which the capabilities of the existing tools are not sufficient.
Geotag and Import Photos is a new QGIS plugin developed for NaturalGIS. It allows you to process geotagged photos, geotag them and create a point shapefile from them.
Key features:
Today, 19 July, Quantum GIS celebrates its 10th birthday. Over the years, QGIS has grown from a simple PostGIS data viewer developed by one person to a full-featured, extensible, cross-platform desktop GIS with support for multiple data formats, extensive analysis and design capabilities, which is developed by programmers from around the world and used successfully by individuals and organisations.
I suggest we remember how it all started.
Read more ››29.06.2012 18:35 · GIS · qgis, plugins, processing
There is a software called TauDEM (Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Models). It provides a free (GNU GPL v2) set of tools for extracting and analysing hydrological information from digital elevation models. TauDEM is developed by David Tarboton of the Water Research Laboratory at Utah State University.
The tools are written in C++, are cross-platform, and have a console interface. Users of ArcGIS 9.3.1 and 10.0 can install an add-on that allows them to run the tools from ArcToolbox using simple dialogs. For others, the only way to use TauDEM is the “scary” command line.
Recently, QGIS also got a powerful and convenient framework that allows easy integration of various tools and libraries (yes, I’m talking about SEXTANTE). Thanks to this framework, QGIS users who need hydrology tools now have a way to use TauDEM directly from QGIS.
Of course, you need to have TauDEM installed in order to use the plugin. While the installation on Windows is quite simple (there are compiled files and detailed installation instructions on the site), Linux users will have to build TauDEM themselves.
Read more ››21.06.2012 09:29 · GIS · qgis, release
Almost a year has passed since the release of QGIS 1.7.0 “Wrocław”. It was supposed to be the last release of the 1.x branch, but time has taken its toll. The developers simply do not have enough resources to maintain several branches simultaneously, so it was decided to abandon the division into “stable” and “development” branches. All future releases will be based on the master branch. The result of these revised plans is the release of QGIS 1.8.0 “Lisboa” today.
This release contains many bug fixes and a significant number of new features. In addition, QGIS 1.8.0 has some minor API changes that affect the print composer. If you are using this part of the API in your plugin and are experiencing problems, the developers will be happy to help you adapt your code.
You can find a detailed description of the new features in the official announcement. I will only mention the most interesting ones:
30.05.2012 18:51 · GIS · qgis, howto
Recently, there have been a lot of questions about working with CSV files in QGIS. So here is my attempt to shed some light on this complex and confusing topic. Be prepared for a longread.
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