Quantum GIS
Encyclopedia
Quantum GIS is a free software
desktop Geographic Information Systems (GIS) application that provides data viewing, editing, and analysis capabilities.
in 2007. Version 1.0 was released in January 2009.
Quantum GIS is written in C++
, and its GUI
uses the Qt
library. Quantum GIS allows integration of plugins developed using either C++ or Python
. In addition to Qt, required dependencies of Quantum GIS include GEOS and SQLite
. GDAL
, GRASS GIS
, PostGIS
, and PostgreSQL
are also recommended.
Quantum GIS is a multi-platform application and runs on different operating systems including Mac OS X
, Linux
, UNIX
, and Microsoft Windows
. For Mac users, the advantage of Quantum GIS over GRASS GIS
is that it does not require the X11 windowing system in order to run, and all around the interface is much cleaner and faster. Quantum GIS can also be used as a graphical user interface to GRASS. Quantum GIS has a small file size compared to commercial GIS's and requires less RAM
and processing power; hence it can be used on older hardware or running simultaneously with other applications where CPU power may be limited.
Quantum GIS is continually maintained by an active group of volunteer developers who regularly release updates and bug fixes. Currently, developers have converted Quantum GIS into 31 languages and the application is used internationally in academic and professional environments.
application under the GNU
distribution license, Quantum GIS can be reprogrammed to perform different or more specialized tasks. There are also plug-ins available to expand compatibility and functionality.
s, coverages
, and personal geodatabases. MapInfo
, PostGIS
, and a number of other formats are supported in Quantum GIS. Web services, including Web Map Service
and Web Feature Service
, are also supported to allow use of data from external sources.
, GRASS
, and MapServer
to give users extensive functionality.
Plugins, written in Python, extend the capabilities of QGIS. There are plugins to geocode using the Google Geocoding API, perform geoprocessing (fTools) similar to the standard tools found in ArcGIS
, as well as plugins that interface with PostgreSQL
and MySQL
databases.
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
desktop Geographic Information Systems (GIS) application that provides data viewing, editing, and analysis capabilities.
Development
Gary Sherman began development of Quantum GIS in early 2002, and it became an incubator project of the Open Source Geospatial FoundationOpen 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...
in 2007. Version 1.0 was released in January 2009.
Quantum GIS is written in C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
, and its GUI
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
uses the Qt
Qt (toolkit)
Qt is a cross-platform application framework that is widely used for developing application software with a graphical user interface , and also used for developing non-GUI programs such as command-line tools and consoles for servers...
library. Quantum GIS allows integration of plugins developed using either C++ or Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
. In addition to Qt, required dependencies of Quantum GIS include GEOS and SQLite
SQLite
SQLite is an ACID-compliant embedded relational database management system contained in a relatively small C programming library. The source code for SQLite is in the public domain and implements most of the SQL standard...
. 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...
, 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....
, PostGIS
PostGIS
PostGIS is an open source software program that adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational database. PostGIS follows the Simple Features for SQL specification from the Open Geospatial Consortium .-Features:...
, and PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...
are also recommended.
Quantum GIS is a multi-platform application and runs on different operating systems including Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, 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...
, UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
, 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...
. For Mac users, the advantage of Quantum GIS over 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....
is that it does not require the X11 windowing system in order to run, and all around the interface is much cleaner and faster. Quantum GIS can also be used as a graphical user interface to GRASS. Quantum GIS has a small file size compared to commercial GIS's and requires less RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
and processing power; hence it can be used on older hardware or running simultaneously with other applications where CPU power may be limited.
Quantum GIS is continually maintained by an active group of volunteer developers who regularly release updates and bug fixes. Currently, developers have converted Quantum GIS into 31 languages and the application is used internationally in academic and professional environments.
Release history
| Version | Codename | Release date | Significant changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0.1-alpha | July 2002 | Import and view data from PostGIS | |
| 0.0.3-alpha | August 10, 2002 | Added support for shapefiles and other vector formats. | |
| 0.0.4-alpha | August 15, 2002 | Improvements in layers handling, colorize layers, and view properties in a dialog box. | |
| 0.0.5-alpha | October 5, 2002 | Bug fixes and improved stability, ability to set line widths, and improved zoom in/out functionality. | |
| 0.0.6 | November 24, 2002 | Improvements to PostGIS connections, layer identify function added, and ability to view and sort attribute tables. | |
| 0.0.7 | November 30, 2002 | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog | |
| 0.0.8 | December 11, 2002 | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog | |
| 0.0.9 | January 25, 2003 | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog | |
| 0.0.10 | May 13, 2003 | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog | |
| 0.0.11 | June 10, 2003 | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog | |
| 0.0.12 | June 10, 2003 | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog | |
| 0.0.13 | December 8, 2003 | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog | |
| 0.1pre1 | February 14, 2004 | Added support for raster data; single, continuous, and graduated shading for vector data; ability to create buffers, implemented as a PostGIS plugin. | |
| 0.1 | Moroz | February 25, 2004 | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog |
| 0.2 | Pumpkin | April 26, 2004 | http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=158822 http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/Release_Specification_for_0.2 http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Dataprovider_overhaul-branch/qgis/ChangeLog |
| 0.3 | Madison | May 28, 2004 | http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=162105 http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/Release_Specification_for_0.3 |
| 0.4 | Baby | July 4, 2004 | http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=165885 http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/Release_Specification_for_0.4 |
| 0.5 | Bandit | October 5, 2004 | http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=174824 http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Release-0_5_candidate/qgis/README |
| 0.6 | Simon | December 19, 2004 | http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=182391 http://qgis.org/content/view/14/99/ |
| 0.7 | Seamus | http://svn.osgeo.org/qgis/branches/Release-0_7-candidate/qgis/README | |
| 0.7.3 | October 11, 2005 | http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=208941 http://technology.slashgeo.org/technology/05/10/19/1323235.shtml | |
| 0.8 | January 7, 2007 | http://freshmeat.net/releases/244519/ http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/Release_Specification_for_0.8 | |
| 0.8.1 | "Titan Titan (moon) Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found.... " |
June 15, 2007 | http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=255782 http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/ReleaseChecklist0.8.1 |
| 0.9.0 | October 26, 2007 | http://blog.qgis.org/?q=node/91 http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=264509 http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/ReleaseChecklist0.9 | |
| 0.9.1 | "Ganymede Ganymede (moon) Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively... " |
January 6, 2008 | http://blog.qgis.org/?q=node/101 http://freshmeat.net/projects/qgis/?branch_id=31471&release_id=274022 http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/ReleaseChecklist0.9.1 |
| 0.10 | "Io Io (moon) Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus.... " |
May 3, 2008 | http://blog.qgis.org/node/116 http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/ReleaseChecklist0.10.0 |
| 0.11.0 | "Metis Metis (moon) Metis , also known as ', is the innermost moon of Jupiter. It was discovered in 1979 in images taken by Voyager 1, and was named in 1983 after the first wife of Zeus, Metis... " |
July 21, 2008 | http://blog.qgis.org/node/119 http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/ReleaseChecklist0.11.0 |
| 1.0.0 | "Kore" | January 5, 2009 | http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/ReleaseChecklist1.0 http://blog.qgis.org/node/123 |
| 1.1.0 | "Pan Pan (moon) Pan is the innermost moon of Saturn. It is a walnut-shaped small moon about 35 kilometres across and 23 km high that orbits within the Encke Gap in Saturn's A Ring. Pan acts as a ring shepherd and is responsible for keeping the Encke Gap free of ring particles.It was discovered by Mark R... " |
May 12, 2009 | http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/ReleaseChecklist1.1 http://blog.qgis.org/node/134 |
| 1.2.0 | "Daphnis Daphnis (moon) Daphnis is an inner satellite of Saturn. It is also known as '; its provisional designation was '. Daphnis is about 8 kilometres in diameter, and orbits the planet in the Keeler Gap within the A ring.- Naming :... " |
September 1, 2009 | http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/ReleaseChecklist1.2 http://blog.qgis.org/node/137 |
| 1.3.0 | "Mimas Mimas (moon) Mimas is a moon of Saturn which was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. It is named after Mimas, a son of Gaia in Greek mythology, and is also designated Saturn I.... " |
September 20, 2009 | http://www.qgis.org/wiki/Release_Checklist_1.3 http://blog.qgis.org/node/138 |
| 1.4.0 | "Enceladus Enceladus (moon) Enceladus is the sixth-largest of the moons of Saturn. It was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. Until the two Voyager spacecraft passed near it in the early 1980s very little was known about this small moon besides the identification of water ice on its surface... " |
January 10, 2010 | http://www.qgis.org/wiki/Release_Checklist_1.4 http://blog.qgis.org/node/142 |
| 1.5.0 | "Tethys Tethys (moon) Tethys or Saturn III is a mid-sized moon of Saturn about across. It was discovered by G. D. Cassini in 1684 and is named after titan Tethys of Greek mythology. Tethys is pronounced |Odysseus]] is about 400 km in diameter, while the largest graben—Ithaca Chasma is about 100 km wide and... " |
July 29, 2010 | http://www.qgis.org/wiki/Release_Checklist_1.5 |
| 1.6.0 | "Copiapó 2010 Copiapó mining accident The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known as the "Chilean mining accident", began in the afternoon of Thursday, 5 August 2010 as a significant cave-in at the troubled 121-year-old San José copper–gold mine. The mine is located deep in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest and harshest... " |
November 27, 2010 | http://www.qgis.org/wiki/Release_Checklist_1.6 http://blog.qgis.org/node/146 |
| 1.7.0 | "Wrocław" | June 19, 2011 | http://qgis.org/component/content/article/127-qgis-1-7-release.html |
Licensing
Because it is distributed as a free softwareFree software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
application under the GNU
GNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
distribution license, Quantum GIS can be reprogrammed to perform different or more specialized tasks. There are also plug-ins available to expand compatibility and functionality.
Data formats
Quantum GIS allows use of shapefileShapefile
The Esri Shapefile or simply a shapefile is a popular geospatial vector data format for geographic information systems software. It is developed and regulated by Esri as a open specification for data interoperability among Esri and other software products.Shapefiles spatially describe geometries:...
s, coverages
Coverage data
In geographic information systems, a coverage is a mapping of one aspect of data in space. It represents a "domain" in terms of characteristics expressing a range of values. For example: a satellite image derived from remote sensing might record varying degrees of light pollution...
, and personal geodatabases. MapInfo
MapInfo
MapInfo Corporation, initially incorporated as Navigational Technologies Incorporated, was a leading Location Intelligence and GIS company, headquartered in North Greenbush, New York. It was acquired on April 19, 2007 by Pitney Bowes, and on January 28, 2009, the name of division of Pitney Bowes it...
, PostGIS
PostGIS
PostGIS is an open source software program that adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational database. PostGIS follows the Simple Features for SQL specification from the Open Geospatial Consortium .-Features:...
, and a number of other formats are supported in Quantum GIS. Web services, including Web Map Service
Web Map Service
A Web Map Service is a standard protocol for serving georeferenced map images over the Internet that are generated by a map server using data from a GIS database...
and Web Feature Service
Web Feature Service
The Open Geospatial Consortium Web Feature Service Interface Standard provides an interface allowing requests for geographical features across the web using platform-independent calls...
, are also supported to allow use of data from external sources.
Functionality
Quantum GIS provides integration with other open source GIS packages, including PostGISPostGIS
PostGIS is an open source software program that adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational database. PostGIS follows the Simple Features for SQL specification from the Open Geospatial Consortium .-Features:...
, GRASS
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
, and 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...
to give users extensive functionality.
Plugins, written in Python, extend the capabilities of QGIS. There are plugins to geocode using the Google Geocoding API, perform geoprocessing (fTools) similar to the standard tools found in ArcGIS
ArcGIS
ArcGIS is a suite consisting of a group of geographic information system software products produced by Esri.ArcGIS is a system for working with maps and geographic information...
, as well as plugins that interface with PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...
and MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
databases.