Hi James,
For the import we will probably use a library called
Teigha - the same library also used by ESRI, Bricscad, Intergraph and
many others. We will have to join the OpenDesignAlliance to get access
to this library and pay a yearly membership fee - we still have to
investigate which level of membership we need as an open source project.
It is clear that the DWG import is harder than the DXF export, but the
Teigha library will help a lot.
Not to argue, since I'm not the one doing the work (and it's a feature
that could help me out a bit!), but how does this mesh with GPLv2 and
the goal of being a F/OSS platform?
We'll have to investigate it - what it means license wise. Maybe one
would have to ship the Teigha library separate from QGIS. But I don't
know yet.
It seems like other GPL based projects (like QCAD) also use Teigha. See
http://www.qcad.org/en/license - they use something called "GPLv3
Exception". I think they ship the Teigha based extension as a plugin so
it can easily be separated if there is the need to (explained on the
same page). That seems feasible to me.
In all seriousness, what would be the process of doing this? Has this
been done for any other QGIS features? Who would be paid? OSG, specific
developers? Who would we talk to about something like this?
yes - absolutely - it has been done before. Maybe 2/3 of the recent new
features were introduced because of paid development, and there has been
some co-financed and/or crowd-funded development efforts.
What's the process for going about this? Let's say I want to start a
crowd funding campaign or fund a specific project. Would I contact the
PSC and hash out the feasibility and funding requirements?
The best way to do it is to write a document explaining the idea,
requirements and any thoughts explaining the project. Then post it to
the qgis-user or qgis-developer mailinglist and seek feedback. PSC is
also reading these mailing lists and can chime in. PSC may decide to
support the project or not or help to promote it. PSC also knows which
developers will have the best knowledge to implement the project.
Chances for a successful project are higher if you can flesh out a more
or less complete/concrete project with some initial funding rather than
something vague.
Andreas
Jim
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