Research Guides: Geographic Information Systems/Science: Open source software

Open Source GIS Software

QGIS and DIVA-GIS are widely used. Both have MAC versions available for downloading.

The free items refer only to the actual software. Other resources such as eBooks may require a Dartmouth sign-on or you can use an alternative method for access.

Quantum GIS (QGIS)
Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS is an official project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). It runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, and Windows and supports numerous vector, raster, and database formats and functionalities.
DIVA-GIS
DIVA-GIS is a free computer program for mapping and geographic data analysis (a geographic information system (GIS).

These are other open source GIS software available via the web.

fGIS
Forestry GIS (fGIS™) is a compact but robust shapefile editing program, digitizer and GIS data query tool for Windows®. fGIS was designed for natural resource managers who are not GIS specialists. It’s easy-to-use and simple to install. Many power users also like fGIS because they can run it on laptops or home computers without copyright issues, it produces data compatible with commercial GIS programs, and fGIS is free.
GeoDa
From the Center for Spatial Data Science at the University of Chicago, software for geospatial analysis, geovisualization and other techniques.
gvSIG
A powerful, user-friendly, interoperable GIS used by thousands of users worldwide.
MapWindow GIS
The MapWindow GIS project includes a free and open source desktop geographic information system (GIS) with an extensible plugin architecture, a GIS ActiveX control, and C# GIS programmer library called DotSpatial. ...
SAGA (System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses)
SAGA is a free, open source GIS software used for raster-based analyses and the Earth Sciences.
uDig
Environmental Benefits Mapping & Analysis Program (BenMAP)
BenMAP-CE is a open-source software program that calculates the number and economic value of air pollution-related deaths and illnesses. It incorporates a database that includes many of the concentration-response relationships, population files, and health and economic data needed to quantify these impacts. This is the Community Edition.

Blogs for Open Source Software

Free and Open Source GIS Ramblings
This is Anita Graser's blog about QGIS and open source GIS software.
A Cartographer's Toolkit
This is Gretchen Peterson's blog about making better maps.

Internet resource(s)

13 Free GIS Software Options: Map the World in Open Source
You don’t have to pay a king’s ransom to map the world. This is because you can do it all with free GIS software. The best part is: these free GIS software give you the firepower to get the job done as if you’re working with commercial GIS software.
Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo)
The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster global adoption of open geospatial technology by being an inclusive software foundation devoted to an open philosophy and participatory community driven development. ...

Selected titles for QGIS software

Discover QGIS by Kurt Menke
Call Number: Baker-Berry G 70.212 .M45 2016
ISBN: 9780989421768
Get your hands on the award winning GeoAcademy exercises in a convenient workbook format. The GeoAcademy is the first ever GIS curriculum based on a national standard--the U.S. Department of Labor's Geospatial Competency Model--a hierarchical model of the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to work as a GIS professional in today's marketplace.
QGIS: becoming a GIS power user by Anita Graser; Ben Mearns; Alex Mandel; Victor Olaya Ferrero; Alexander Bruy
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781788299725
Learn how to work with various types of data and create beautiful maps using this easy-to-follow guide- Give a touch of professionalism to your maps, both for functionality and look and feel, with the help of this practical guide- This progressive, hands-on guide builds on a geo-spatial data and adds more reactive maps using geometry tools. ...
Mastering QGIS: go beyond the basics and unleash the full power of QGIS with practical step-by-step examples by Kurt Menke; Richard Smith Jr.; Luigi Pirelli; John Van Hoesen; Phillip Davis
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781786460370
Publication Date: 2nd ed.
This book is your one-stop solution to all of your GIS needs using the open source QGIS. Master QGIS by learning about database integration, geoprocessing tools, Python scripts, advanced cartography, and custom plugins. This example-rich, practical guide will help you create sophisticated analyses and maps. ...
QGIS by example: leverage the power of QGIS in real-world applications to become a powerful user in cartography and GIS analysis by Alexander Bruy; Daria Svidzinska
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781782174677
If you are a beginner or an intermediate GIS user, this book is for you. It is ideal for practitioners, data analysts, and application developers who have very little or no familiarity with geospatial data and software.
QGIS map design by Anita Graser; Gretchen N. Peterson
Call Number: Baker-Berry GA 102.4 .E4 G73 2016
ISBN: 9780989421751
Learn how to use QGIS to take your cartographic products to the highest level. With step-by-step instructions for creating the most modern print map designs seen in any instructional materials to-date, this book covers everything from basic styling and labeling to advanced techniques like illuminated contours and dynamic masking.