Frank Warmerdam
Encyclopedia
Frank Warmerdam is a software developer with a focus on remote sensing
, geographic information system
, cartography
, and development of geospatial data translators. He is best known in the GIS community as the author of the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library or GDAL
. He is also a founding member, director and the treasurer of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation
(OSGeo).
Frank Warmerdam lives near Eganville
, Ontario
, Canada
. He graduated in 1991 and worked for PCI (now PCI Geomatics) until 1998. Since then he works as a contract developer focusing on extending Geospatial Free and Open Source Software
projects.
He is the main author of the GDAL
library and of the companion OGR Simple Features Library. He also participates in the development of an impressive number of FOSS
projects like GRASS GIS
, MapServer
, Proj.4, libLAS
, libtiff and many others. Many of the open source
GIS programs and libraries are available in the FWTools
bundle (named after his initials) for Linux
and Microsoft Windows
.
In 2005, Frank received the Sol Katz
GFOSS Award.
Frank now works for Google
.
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
, geographic information system
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
, cartography
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
, and development of geospatial data translators. He is best known in the GIS community as the author of the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library or GDAL
GDAL
GDAL is a library for reading and writing raster geospatial data formats, and is released under the permissive X/MIT style free software license by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation. As a library, it presents a single abstract data model to the calling application for all supported formats...
. He is also a founding member, director and the treasurer of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
The Open Source Geospatial Foundation , is a non-profit non-governmental organization whose mission is to support and promote the collaborative development of open geospatial technologies and data. The foundation was formed in February 2006 to provide financial, organizational and legal support to...
(OSGeo).
Frank Warmerdam lives near Eganville
Eganville, Ontario
Eganville is a small community occupying a deep limestone valley carved at the Fifth Chute of the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is in the township of Bonnechere Valley. This village also has two of the most popular restaurants in the upper Ottawa Valley: The Granary and...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He graduated in 1991 and worked for PCI (now PCI Geomatics) until 1998. Since then he works as a contract developer focusing on extending Geospatial Free and Open Source Software
Foss
Foss may refer toPeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop...
projects.
He is the main author of the GDAL
GDAL
GDAL is a library for reading and writing raster geospatial data formats, and is released under the permissive X/MIT style free software license by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation. As a library, it presents a single abstract data model to the calling application for all supported formats...
library and of the companion OGR Simple Features Library. He also participates in the development of an impressive number of FOSS
Foss
Foss may refer toPeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop...
projects like GRASS GIS
GRASS GIS
GRASS GIS is a free, open source geographical information system capable of handling raster, topological vector, image processing, and graphic data....
, MapServer
MapServer
MapServer is an open source development environment for building spatially-enabled internet applications. It can run as a CGI program or via MapScript which supports several programming languages . MapServer was developed by the University of Minnesota — so, it is often and more specifically...
, Proj.4, libLAS
LibLAS
libLAS is a library for reading and writing geospatial data encoded in the ASPRS LASer file format, versions 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2. LAS-formatted data is heavily used in LiDAR processing operations...
, libtiff and many others. Many of the open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
GIS programs and libraries are available in the FWTools
FWTools
FWTools is a set of open source programs for geographical information systems bundled by Frank Warmerdam . The graphical GIS toolset is made for Microsoft Windows and Linux platforms, and includes several popular subpackages:...
bundle (named after his initials) for Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
In 2005, Frank received the Sol Katz
Sol Katz
Sol Katz was an early pioneer of geospatial computer software and left behind a large body of work in the form of computer applications and format specifications while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the...
GFOSS Award.
Frank now works for Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
.