In addition to ESRI ArcGIS software, there are other programs for analyzing geospatial data. This software is not currently available at CCA, however, many programs are free and offer an alternative for at-home use.
- ArcGIS Explorer
A free GIS viewer from ESRI. It looks much like Google Earth, but with some spatial analysis functionality.
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AccuGlobe 2007
AccuGlove is a user-friendly desktop GIS. It is similiar to ArcView 3.x desktop GIS in appearance and functionality, but it is FREE!
- GRASS
Commonly referred to as GRASS, this is a free Geographic Information System (GIS) used for geospatial data management and analysis, image processing, graphics/maps production, spatial modeling, and visualization. GRASS is currently used in academic and commercial settings around the world, as well as by many governmental agencies and environmental consulting companies. GRASS is an official project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGEO).
- GMT
GMT is an open source collection of ~65 tools for manipulating geographic and Cartesian data sets (including filtering, trend fitting, gridding, projecting, etc.) and producing Encapsulated PostScript File (EPS) illustrations ranging from simple x-y plots via contour maps to artificially illuminated surfaces and 3-D perspective views; the GMT supplements add another ~70 more specialized tools. GMT supports over 30 map projections and transformations and comes with support data such as GSHHS coastlines, rivers, and political boundaries. GMT is developed and maintained by Paul Wessel and Walter H. F. Smith with help from a global set of volunteers, and is supported by the National Science Foundation. It is released under the GNU General Public License (GMT).
- Landserf
Recommended by Prof. Hauser. LandSerf is a Java-base free desktop GIS runs on all Java supported platforms - good with "raster" data, with advanced raster data visualization functions.
- OS Geo Live
OS Geo Live is a group of Open Source (OS) Geospatial Technology tools, including spatial database, web map servers, desktop GIS, etc. Below are the key & popular components which we can download individually.
- Quantum GIS (QGIS)
QGIS is an open source GIS software, available for both Windows OS and Mac OS users. This software is free and comes with surprisingly powerful and useful tools!
- uDig
uDig (accronym for User-friendly Desktop Internet GIS) is meant to work with online, web map services (internet GIS).
- OpenLayers
OpenLayer is a javascript tool to create your own interactive map by mashing up web map services.
