Ravi wrote:
Some so called SDI experts feel that FOSS SDI cannot perform at-par with
Proprietary SDI.
Please provide examples to fight a case from an Indian state which
swears by Free and Open Source Software. We can never expect a better
level playing field.
Kerala - India
Here are some excerpts from a document that has false claims supporting
Proprietary Software.
However, it is worthwhile to mention here that the OSS (Open Source
Software) does not match the advanced functionalities of many of the
commercial (proprietory) software that is in the market. Image
processing and analysis capabilities of the open source software is not
comparable to the commercial software when one require to carry out
advanced data manipulations, image fusion, 3D modeling,
ortho-correction, auto-georeferencing, stereo-image/air photo
interpretation (PROBABLY REFERRING TO GRASS), advanced geospatial
analysis etc., In such cases, certain proprietary software become an
integral part of the Spatial Data Infrastructures, which can not be
avoided. At a later stage the some of the proprietary software need to
be purchased.
The issue I see with this paragraph is that it is merely handwaving and
FUD; I don't see any specifics given. In particular, I would ask for the
specific processes and workflows they are referring to (in particular
which software/plugins they are using) so that you can point them
towards an equivalent OSS solution.
It is a well known fact that web portal that run with OSS are neither
OGC-compliant nor
interoperable(PostGIS and Webservers to react). At the present juncture
it is only possible to establish the KSDI Geoportal
with the available COTS enterprise software.
This is just completely wrong; PostGIS is based upon the OGC SFS for
storing geometries and we have worked hard to ensure that it meets the
standard in all regards. In terms of other applications, servers like
Mapserver and Geoserver speak standards-compliant WMS/WFS/KML so again I
am amazed that they are making this claim.
If they are looking for ex-commercial software, there is always
Autodesk's open-sourced MapGuide application. Or, if they really do want
to use proprietary software in the stack somewhere, then ArcGIS Server
supports PostGIS from version 9.3.
This is a case that has the potential to set trends in India. Hope to
have a good discussion such that we can sum it up and present at a
meeting being conducted on August 11th 2010, to settle the issue.
If the above sample is representative of the document, then you need to
do a lot of research into debunking these false claims and the FUD
around them. The excerpts you have provided are so full of lies that I
can't help but feel there is a clash of commercial interest somewhere in
this project.
ATB,
Mark.
--
Mark Cave-Ayland - Senior Technical Architect
PostgreSQL - PostGIS
Sirius Corporation plc - control through freedom
http://www.siriusit.co.uk
t: +44 870 608 0063
Sirius Labs: http://www.siriusit.co.uk/labs
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