-------- Original Message --------
Subject: FW: Free, open source map publishing tool - gdal2tiles
Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 14:20:53 -0000
From: Fleet, Christopher <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
I don't think this reply from Klokan Petr Pridal got through yesterday...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Klokan Petr Přidal <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 6 Nov 2007 10:13
Subject: Re: Free, open source map publishing tool - gdal2tiles
To: "Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum" <[log in to unmask]>
Hello Nicholas and others,
GDAL2Tiles comes with several ideas:
- It is not only KML SuperOverlay generator for Google Earth, but it
generates web sites with viewer of tiles for you too. Another
advantage is that tiles uploaded on a server follow TMS standard. TMS
is a core of Cashed WMS of OGS, which is in draft state now, hopefully
OGS will follow TMS very much as it is clever designed I think.
- You do NOT NEED ANY server software to publish your map. Just run
the GDAL2Tiles and it generates a directory with files which you
simply copy into your webserver or any (even free) hosting server.
It means no installation or upgrades of any software on your servers,
simple backup and restore, no configuration on the server side at all,
no special requirements.
- It is the FASTEST possible way for your users. The map will appear
constantly, limit is only the quality of your internet connection.
- Again. You publish one set of tiles, and those are used in several
viewers. So your map is embedded in a website as well as presented in
3D.
Web viewers use OpenLayers.org (which is 100% open-source software),
Google Maps, WorldKit.org, soon could come MS Virtual Earth and
Zoomify-based viewer. You can choose the one you prefer for your
website presentation.
KML files for SuperOverlay of Google Earth is generated as well. Free
alternatives for GE like NASA WorldWind doesn't support yet neither
TMS, nor custom tiles. But there is a high chance that they will
support it in the near future - if you need it now just pay any Java
developer and everybody will have it in a few weeks.
- GDAL2Tiles costs 0,- USD/GBP, it is 100% open-source software, runs
on Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, ...
You can use it to process thousands of maps in a batch mode, if you would like.
Usage on Windows is easy, just install FWTools (standard setup.exe),
copy gdal2tiles.py to disk C: and from FWTools run ONE COMMAND:
"python gdal2tiles.py <your map file>".
If anybody would like to fund a simple GUI development, than it will
be totally easy to use - just select a file in a GUI and wait until it
is finished.
- Because it is based on GDAL, it can process really huge raster files
and supports GeoTIFF, MrSID, ECW, JPEG2000, and other formats.
GDAL is very strong and open-source software library with a collection
of tools, it is behind lots of GIS tools you know, even commercial
projects of ESRI and Google Inc.
In my eyes it is worth to learn a bit about it and be able to use
tools like gdalwarp.
It saves you a lot of money and gives you and your institution more
possibilities...
- If you need power of WMS, then you could reproject tiles by free UNM
Mapserver in the future, as far as there will be TMS-read driver for
GDAL, it is planed.
- Because you DO NOT DEPEND on a commercial software (whether it is
Manifold, ESRI, ... Microsoft, Google) you are not dependent on their
new versions, on their will to repair bug you need to be repaired or
on their profitability.
If you need commercial support, you can choose from several companies
or individuals, it is a free market, price will be better probably.
Again, you do not depend on ONE subject.
If you choose for example the Manifold server solution, what you will
do if they bankrupt?
Is not it better to invest a bit more effort into learning GDAL and
other free software tools from the beginning?
I think the best is to combine both worlds, commercial and free, be
aware of standards, process/publish your data the way, that they are
not dependant on one software company or one platform...
GDAL tools and gdal2tiles gives you only an little piece of mosaic
which you could like.. you do not have to.. anyway.. your choice.
If you find GDAL2Tiles nice and use it for your maps I will be glad...
If you think you can improve it and share this improvements with
others, just do it.. :-)
If you would like to support anyhow the development, contact OSGeo,
GDAL community (mailing-list, IRC) or me directly.
Best wishes to everybody...
Klokan Petr Pridal
Student, who created GDAL2Tiles
> You might also want to consider Manifold System GIS to do the same and it
> being a GIS, very much more, including providing a
> customisable/programmable internet map server.
>
> Manifold System GIS 8.x ( www.manifold.net ) is commercial off-the-shelf
> product that equals to or surpasses competitor GIS software, eg ESRI
> products, but at a fraction of their cost.
>
> Manifold can publish images and vector drawings to Google Earth, it also
> allows working with spatial databases (Oracle, SQL, DB2, even ArcSDS),
> enormous image libaries, imagery in .ecw and .JP2 compressed formats.
> Manifold System 8.x online manual: http://www.manifold.net/doc/manifold.htm
>
> The latest versions are available for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows operating
> systems. Manifold System also levarages nVidia CUDA(TM) grphics card
> technology enabling massively parallel processing using the GPUs of latest
> high-end nVidia graphic cards (up to four cards can harnessed together
> providing a total of up to 512 parallel processors). This allows rapid
> handling of enormous uncompressed images (i have seen a 90000x90000 24bit
> image load in less than ten seconds).
>
> Since the US dollar has gone through the floor, the cheapest version of
> Manifold System is now about 70.00 GBP. You would need to spend countless
> thousands of pounds to assemble the equivalent ESRI products to get the
> same capabilities.
>
> A short rant about use of Google Earth by public institutions:
>
> I do not think that it is right that publicly funded institutions should
> be building mash-ups and adding content to Google Earth, which lest we
> forget, is a commercial product that is a vehicle for generating
> advertising revenues for Google. By all means lets put mapping and other
> information online and make it accessable, but do it using technology that
> is owned and controlled by the content provider.
>
>
>
> On Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:30:47 -0000, Maps-L <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > -------- Original Message --------
> > Subject: Free, open source map publishing tool - gdal2tiles
> > Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 12:53:40 -0000
> > From: Fleet, Christopher <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum
> > <[log in to unmask]>
> >
> >
> >
> > Earlier this year there have been some useful exchanges on ways of
> > tiling geo-referenced map images for quicker online presentation in
> > Google Earth (as KML SuperOverlays), Google maps, and other software.
> >
> > On behalf of a colleague, I wanted to share with the list a recently
> > created program, gdal2tiles, that allows a quick, simple and free way of
> > doing this. As this is free, non-commercial software, I hope the list
> > will forgive this marketing plug!
> >
> > The program uses the FWTools ( http://fwtools.maptools.org/ ) set of
> > open source GIS software to create a tile map pyramid structure of
> > raster images. World files and embedded geo-referencing is used during
> > tile generation, but it is possible to publish an image without proper
> > geo-referencing too. gdal2tiles is at:
> > http://www.klokan.cz/projects/gdal2tiles/
> >
> > Just to illustrate this, these applications below use Openlayers for
> > some seamed, geo-referenced series maps of Scotland, all created using
> > gdal2tiles:
> >
> > Ordnance Survey Quarter-inch to the mile, 1921-23 -
> > http://geo.nls.uk/quarter/
> > Bartholomew half-inch to the mile, 1926-35 - http://geo.nls.uk/bart/
> > Ordnance Survey One Inch to the mile, Popular ed, 1921-30 -
> > http://geo.nls.uk/popular/
> > Roy Military Survey, 1747-55 - Highlands -
> > http://geo.nls.uk/roy-highlands/
> > Roy Military Survey, 1747-55 - Lowlands -
> > http://geo.nls.uk/roy-lowlands/
> >
> > Each of these applications contains several Gb of imagery each - the OS
> > Popular is about 34Gb in total - but it displays quite swiftly due to
> > the tiled structure and display.
> >
> > The OS Quarter-Inch mapping in Google Earth (
> > http://geo.nls.uk/OS/Quarter/Quarter.kml ) is about 5 Gb of imagery, but
> > gives relatively fast displays through the TMS tiling.
> >
> > Klokan Petr Pridal ([log in to unmask]), who wrote the gdal2tiles program,
> > has several ideas for further development, including:
> >
> > - support for Google Maps compatible tiles, so its possible to overlay
> > your map on top of Google maps
> > - one collection of tiles for Google Maps, Google Earth, OpenLayers,
> > whatever, possible with Global Mercator projection.
> > - Zoomify-based viewer supporting tiles from gdal2tiles.
> >
> > and various ways of incorporating gdal2tiles with geo-referencing tools,
> > like the Metacarta rectifier: http://labs.metacarta.com/rectifier/
> > (although this involves writing a different program, as Metacarta is not
> > open-source)
> >
> > Klokan Petr Pridal is very keen for this software to be used in the map
> > community, and for further information or advice about similar software
> > and projects. He also would be keen for any support for further work,
> > and co-operation in developing these free tools!
> >
> > Chris Fleet
> > Deputy Map Curator
> > National Library of Scotland
> > 33 Salisbury Place
> > EDINBURGH
> > EH9 1SL
> > United Kingdom.
> >
> > Tel. 0131 623 3973
> > Fax. 0131 623 3971
> >
> > E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> > View maps website: http://www.nls.uk/maps
> >
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Nicholas J. Verge BSc. FGS
> Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK
>
> Geologist
>
>
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