Desktop GIS shows you how to assemble and use an Open Source GIS toolkit. You'll find strategies for choosing a platform, selecting the right tools, integration, managing change, and getting support. You'll get a good introduction to using the many tools available so you can visualize, digitize, and analyze your own mapping data.

Desktop GIS examines the challenges associated with assembling and using an OSGIS toolkit. You'll find strategies for choosing a platform, selecting the right tools, integration, managing change, and getting support. The survey of OSGIS desktop applications provides you with a quick introduction to the many packages available. You'll see examples of both GUI (Graphical User Interface) and command line interfaces to give you a feel for what is available.

This book will give you an understanding of the Open Source GIS landscape, along with a detailed look at the major desktop applications, including GRASS, Quantum GIS, uDig, spatial databases, GMT, and other command line tools. Finally, the book exposes you to scripting in the OSGIS world, using Python, shell, and other languages to visualize, digitize, and analyze your data.