Hi Really exciting concept, I very much like the idea of letting the user see the algorithm; I just differ from other people's views on the use of .net. This is effectively a closed technology and one controlled by a company that has no interested in the sustainability of the solutions created within it. The use of .net also limits the platforms on which the solution can be deployed; strategically that is poor i.e. the limiting of choices in one area because of the choices in another. I would be interested, I imagine off-list, in your reasons for choosing that closed development approach for something you wanted to make very open in other ways.
Regards Chris ----- "John Lindsay" <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello, > > I wanted to let you know about a new open-source GIS project that I > have initiated called Whitebox Geospatial Analysis Tools. Whitebox GAT > is a user-friendly and expendable GIS with significant capabilities > for spatial analysis. In developing Whitebox GAT I have taken a > transparent approach to the open-source paradigm. That is, if the user > would like to know how a particular tool's algorithm works, they need > not download the source code and wade through the immense code base to > find the few lines of relevant code. Instead, each tool has a 'View > Code' button that will bring up the specific code related to the tool. > Furthermore, they are able to convert the code into other programming > languages. The idea is to remove some of the barriers that exist > between the developer community and the user community. My analogy is > that commercial software is like a locked library where only a few > select individuals have the right to access the information contained > within; most open source software packages, at least from the > viewpoint of the user, is like a public library but there is no > cataloging system and the books are all written in Greek; Whitebox is > much more like the Internet. You can download Whitebox GAT from: > > http://www.uoguelph.ca/~hydrogeo/Whitebox/index.html > > I'd certainly appreciate any feedback that you may have. > > John Lindsay, Ph.D., Assistant Professor > Dept. of Geography, Univ. of Guelph > Guelph, Ont. N1G 2W1 CANADA > Phone: (519) 824-4120 x56074 > Fax: (519) 837-2940 > Email: [email protected] > Department Web: www.uoguelph.ca/geography/ > Personal Web: http://www.uoguelph.ca/geography/faculty/lindsay.html > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss -- Chris Puttick CIO Oxford Archaeology: Exploring the Human Journey Direct: +44 (0)1865 980 718 Switchboard: +44 (0)1865 263 800 Mobile: +44 (0)7908 997 146 http://thehumanjourney.net ------ Files attached to this email may be in ISO 26300 format (OASIS Open Document Format). If you have difficulty opening them, please visit http://iso26300.info for more information. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
