1. 6. GI System Software

2. Learning Objectives Understand the architecture of GI software systems
Outline the process of GI system customization
Describe the main types of commercial software
Describe the main types of commercial GI software products currently available

3. Outline Introduction The evolution of GI system software
Architecture of GI system software
Building GI software systems
GI software vendors
Types of GI systems
Conclusion

4. Introduction Specific view of GI systems
systems with a range of generic capabilities to collect, store, manage, query, analyze, and present geographic information
Discussion restricted to GI system products
well-defined collections of software and accompanying documentation
Software can be
Downloaded or purchased; Shareware; Liteware; Freeware;
Public-domain software; open-source software

5. The Evolution of GI Systems
From command line to GUI
Key developments (late 1980s)
GUIs and customization capabilities
The recent emergence of the Web services paradigm
Web service: key technology building block of Cloud GI systems.
Cloud GI web services are new GI technology wave

6. Cloud GI Web Services: Requesting a Google Map

7. Architecture of GI System Software
Project GI system
single, fixed term, one-off project; data collected specifically for the project and little thought given to reuse; absence of organizational vision; sharing data and experience is a low priority
Department GI system
several projects in the same department are amalgamated; creation of common standards; development of a focused GI system team; procurement of new GI system capabilities
Enterprise GI system
standards are accepted across multiple departments; resources are centrally funded and managed

8. Architecture of GI System Software
Classical three-tier architecture of a GI software system.

9. Architecture of GI System Software
Software data models and customization
A data model defines how the real world is represented in a GI system
A software data model defines how the different tools are grouped together, how they can be used, and how they interact with data
Customization is the process of modifying GI systems
Industry-standard programming languages
IDEs, APIs

10. Architecture of GI System Software
GI system on the desktop, and on the Web and in the Cloud
Key concepts: thick and thin servers
Network GI systems use the cross-platform Web browser to host the viewer interface

11. Comparison of Desktop and Network GI Systems

12. Computer hardware in typical data center.

13. Building GI Software Systems
Start with a formal design for a software system and then build each part or component separately before assembling the whole system.
Core GI software systems are usually written in a modern programming language
e.g. Visual C++, C#, or Java
Key choice: reuse third-party components or libraries, or to build one more or less from scratch

14. GI Software Vendors Four leading GI software vendors Autodesk Bentley
Esri
Intergraph

15. Screenshot of Esri ArcGIS for Desktop.

16. Screenshot of Intergraph GeoMedia—desktop GI system.

17. Types of GI Systems Desktop systems Web mapping Server GI systems
Virtual globes
Developer GI systems
Mobile GI systems
Other types

18. Desktop Systems
Owe their origin to the personal computer and Microsoft Windows operating system
Are the mainstream workhorses of today
Free GI viewers able to display and query popular file formats
Help to establish market share and can create de facto standards
Focus on use rather than data creation
Professional GI systems are full-featured desktop GI systems with a superset of capabilities

19. Screenshot of Quantum GIS desktop system
Source:
Screenshot of Quantum GIS desktop system

20. Web Mapping
Next decade will be dominated by Web and server GI products
Web mapping: integrated Web-accessible software, a 2-D database comprising one or more base maps, and an associated collection of services
Web access is provided via easily accessible, open interfaces running in Web browsers and returning image tiles (fragments of the total map)
Website functions can easily be accessed programmatically via well- defined application programming interfaces (APIs)

21. Situational awareness viewer for an oil spill disaster that mashes up several social media feeds on top of a Web-service base map.
Data courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, LA Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries, NOAA, Ushahidi, YouTube, and Twitter.

22. Server GI Systems
A server GI system runs on a computer server that can handle concurrent processing requests from a range of networked clients
Initially, server GI systems were nothing more than ports of desktop GI products
Second-generation systems were subsequently built using a multiuser services-based architecture that allows them to run unattended and to handle many concurrent requests from remote networked users
Server systems are the heart of many Cloud GI implementations

23. Server System: MapGuide Open Source

24. Virtual Globes
Virtual globes allow users to visualize geographic information on top of 3-D global base maps
e.g. Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth
Have stimulated neogeography and volunteered geographic information (VGI)
Neogeography is the “new” geography that among other things includes the overlay or mashing up two or more sources of geographic information

25. Source: Google, map data copyright Google, AND, TeleAtlas
Google Earth

26. Developer GI Systems
Toolkits of GI system functions (components) that a reasonably knowledgeable programmer can use to build a specific-purpose GI application
Source: IBM ILOG

27. Mobile GI Systems
A utility work order application that runs on a smartphone device.
Esri ArcPad running on a rugged hand-held field PC device

28. Other types of GI Software
e.g. raster-based and CAD-based GI systems
Idrisi, by Clark Labs

29. Conclusions Software is a critical part of any working GIS
Many architectures
Desktop GI systems are the workhorses
Cloud GI systems based on web services are growing in importance
Many vendors
Open source approaches are growing in importance
Customisation/software development is a critical skill much in demand