For
those of you still hesitate to use open source desktop GIS software “Quantum
GIS or QGIS”, here are some strong reasons to use it now.
1. QGIS is free and open-source software (FOSS)
Anybody
with an Internet connection can visit http://www.qgis.org/en/site/
site and retrieve a copy of the GIS software. There is no cost to the
user and this software’s source code is also freely available for the users to
make any changes to the program.
QGIS
can also run on many operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and UNIX.
It 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.
2. View data
You
can view and overlay vector and raster data in different formats and
projections without importing/exporting. Supported formats include:
- QGIS uses the OGR library to read and write vector data formats, including shapefiles, MapInfo TAB file formats, GML, KML, AutoCAD DXF, PostGIS, SpatiaLite, Oracle Spatial and MSSQL Spatial databases, and many more.
- Raster formats supported by the installed GDAL (Geospatial Data Abstraction Library) library, such as GeoTIFF, ERDAS IMG, ArcInfo ASCII GRID, JPEG, PNG and many more.
- Online spatial data served as OGC Web Services, including WMS, WFS and many more.
3. Extend QGIS functionality through plugins
QGIS can be adapted to your
special needs with the use of extensible plugin programs that can greatly
enhance the functionalities of the software.
4. Print Composer
With
the Print Composer you can create nice maps and atlases that can be printed or
saved as PDF-file, an image or an SVG-file. This is a powerful way to share
geographical information produced with QGIS that can be included in reports or
published.
5. Working with GPS Data
The
GPS receiver uses the signals from the satellites to calculate its latitude,
longitude and (sometimes) elevation. Most receivers also have the capability to
store locations (known as waypoints), sequences of locations that make up a
planned route and a tracklog or track of the receiver’s movement over time.
Waypoints, routes and tracks are the three basic feature types in GPS data.
QGIS displays waypoints in point layers, while routes and tracks are displayed
in linestring layers.
QGIS
can also perform Live GPS tracking so If the GPS receiver is receiving signals
from satellites, you will see your position in latitude, longitude and altitude
together with additional attributes on the QGIS map.
6. Create, edit, manage,
analysis and export data - Ability to create and edit shapefiles
- Image georeferencing
- Support for visualizing and editing OpenStreetMap data
- Improved handling of spatial database tables
- Tools for managing vector attribute tables
- Option to save screenshots as georeferenced images
- Offers vector analysis, spatial query, shortest path analysis,sampling, geoprocessing, geometry, database management tools and many more
- Offers many raster analysis, such as terrain analysis, zonal statistics, conversions, dam creation etc.
