UCGIS Virtual Seminar - Fall 1998 [Back][Refresh][Options][Search] Week 2 - Research/Development/Standards Site [Edit*][Delete*] [Image] http://www.ogdi.org/ogdiri Dawn Wright 10/18/98 [Image] reply to questions about this website Ronald William Ward 10/19/98 [Image] Re:OGDI Byong-Woon Jun 10/21/98 [Image] [Image] Plug in driver Ronald William Ward 10/23/98 [Image] Post new message in this thread ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Top][Previous][Next][Print][Reply][Edit*][Move*][Delete*] Date: October 18, 1998 09:03 PM Author: Dawn Wright (dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu) Subject: http://www.ogdi.org/ogdiri Discuss The Open Geospatial Datastore Interface http://www.ogdi.org/ogdiri (http://forums.library.orst.edu/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=7&Message_ID=2086) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Top][Previous][Next][Print][Reply][Edit*][Move*][Delete*] Date: October 19, 1998 08:17 AM Author: Ronald William Ward (ronward@arches.uga.edu) Subject: reply to questions about this website Dawn, To get the ball rolling... "...is it effective? Why or why not? How do you think the site could be improved in terms of the underlying computing architecture? Also, should user interfaces for these distributed computing sites be any different than for a standalone (non-distributed) GIS session? These are just some questions to get the ball rolling." First off, I have to confess that most of the language being used in this website (OGDI) is too technically oriented for the likes of me. Therefore, the website itself is probably also too technically oriented for me. However, I can make a few observations about what I read, and tried to do... This site is Canadian based I take it - hence all the references to Canadian based governmental organizations and the like. I couldn't really say whether or not its an effective tool for distributed computing or not - but maybe, if someone like me logs into the site and can't understand whats going on, its not an effective site. All that depends on the purpose of the site. In some of the summary information at the entry page on the site, purposes outlined were "integrating data networks, providing online access to data, and cutting costs of data conversion," - which, evidentally, can account for up to 60% to 80% of the cost of developing a usable GIS. If this is the purpose of the site, and presuming that the 'less technically challenged' than myself can understand how to navigate through the site - than perhaps its an effective avenue for distributed GIS. After reading all the intro, developer, sponser, and copyright information, I ran across some sample maps/data. I attempted to look at a couple of these maps, but ran into the usual problem of trying to get the proper plug-in that would allow me to view these maps. No luck! Netscape would identify the proper plug-in, but I could not get it downloaded, and in one case netscape replied that the plug-in I needed to look at the map does not exist (the reply being, "Netscape knows of no such plug-in.") Of course, most of my problems have to do with not being familiar with all the software and how to download these particular plug-ins and all - but I think the directions as to how to view sample data/maps are much less than straight forward than they could be. So, I guess my take on this website is that, despite its purpose being the ability to go from one agency to private data provider to the GIS environment, it seems geared toward regular GIS users, and not this challenged researcher. Also, much of what I read was clearly advirtising for this GRASS GIS software. I read the information of GRASSlinks available through the Austrailian wegsite - and evidentally this GRASS GIS software is public domain. I like that idea, but I'm confused - what is all this pricing information doing on this OGDI website if the GRASS software is public domain? I'm I talking about the same software here? Anyway, pricing of some of the services offered on this site does seem to be an issue - the profit motive seems to be a factor here even though the mode of using the data available id shareware. Am I wrong here? I have had luck with getting data from UGSIS and, ecpecially, the Georgia Digital Data Clearing House - no fancy plug-ins necessary. safari njema, Ron Ward (http://forums.library.orst.edu/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=7&Message_ID=2100) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Top][Previous][Next][Print][Reply][Edit*][Move*][Delete*] Date: October 21, 1998 10:47 PM Author: Byong-Woon Jun (bwjun@arches.uga.edu) Subject: Re:OGDI This site provides platform-independent geospatial data access and integration tools on the Web using OGDI (Open Geospatial Database Interface). OGDI is a new techology for standardized access and transfer of geospatial data. Its purpose is to provide transparent access to various geospatial data formats such as DIGEST (VRF, DTED, ADRG), GRASS, DXF, Arc/Info and others. It is a Canadian effort of geospatial data format standardization like SDTS (Spatial Data Transfer System) in US. Its effort can also be in line with interoperable GISs and open GIS. OGDI uses the Internet as a medium to distribute geospatial data products. It sits between a GIS software package (the application) and various geospatial data products or drivers using a standardized accesss method. This is very similar to Mircosoft ODBC (Object Database Connectivity). I think it can also be next solution to distributed computing and Web-based GIS. However, the problem with OGDI is that it uses a plug-in driver for each type of datastore, allowing a user to request and receive information from that datastore in a Graphical User Interface (GUI) environment. This may make the public not easy to display and downdload datastore using any Web browser. Anyway, it's free. Jun (http://forums.library.orst.edu/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=7&Message_ID=2203) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [Top][Previous][Next][Print][Reply][Edit*][Move*][Delete*] Date: October 23, 1998 06:41 AM Author: Ronald William Ward (ronward@arches.uga.edu) Subject: Plug in driver Hey Jun, You obviously know a lot more about the potential of this site than I do - me being among the technically challenged. Funny that we come to the same conclusion - plug in drivers might discourage people from utilizing the site (particulary true in the case of the technically challenged individual). Even for the more technically adept - the site is slow. Ron Ward (http://forums.library.orst.edu/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=7&Message_ID=2227)