(9AM) An Introduction to Geospatial Open Source: Wading Into Geospatial Open Source

This is the morning session of the day long Introduction to Geospatial Open Source event, the full description of which can be found here. This event can be attended as an add-on to the main conference or as a standalone event.

Runs from 9:00 am to noon.

From desktop to server to core library, we’ll take you on an enjoyably informative tour of the rich, diverse world of open source geospatial software.   And yes, we’ll provide a cheat sheet of acronyms so you’ll be able to decode the otherwise opaque references you may sometimes hear in conversations on this topic.  We’ll specifically touch on

• What is Open Source, and Why?
• Desktop, Database, Server, Web:  A Tour of Open Source Geo Projects
• Code Libraries and the Algorithms ‘Under the Hood’ That Make It All Work
• Is This All Really ‘Free as In Beer’: What are the Licensing Rules of the Road?
• Business issues relating to open source: licensing, support, integration