This isn’t the road network you are looking for
I have to say, gis.stackexchange.com is always an interesting read. You see questions from just about every type of location data user; from GIS Professionals to neogeographers (do we still use that term?). Yesterday there was a question I hadn’t seen in a while:
Is there any site from where I can get Google Road network as shapefile? As per my knowledge It is not distributed by google. So anybody can suggest how can I create this road network for a custom use?
So we all know that Google’s road data is proprietary and you can’t use it outside their APIs. I said this last month:
Clearly, we need to approach OSM differently than just a free slippy map. The value of the data created is immense and we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible to bring that great data source into your GIS applications. When I think of OSM, I think of possibly the greatest mapping resource ever conceived. The depth and breath of OSM still amazes me, even after all these years of being involved with the project. WeoGeo hopes that by providing free and customizable options for using OSM, you’ll be able to not only use OSM data in your projects, but also give back to the OSM community.
Clearly wise beyond my years, but it is time to stop using closed APIs such as Google’s or Apple’s and embrace OpenStreetMap. We’ve got the whole OSM world up on our market and I can clip out the USA, request only the highway data and deliver as a shapefile in a matter of minutes.
WG-Clip-OSM
It’s that simple to get the OSM road network at as shapefile. Plus you can use it how you see fit, as long as you credit back the project. Hey, Merry Christmas Devils Dream!
http://market.weogeo.com/datasets/osm-openstreetmap-planet/widget.html?zoom=1&lat=0&lon=0 OpenStreetMap Planet
A WeoGeo Christmas
Christmas Tree
Another year is close to ending and the kids are all snuggled in front of their Xbox 360s. I and everyone at WeoGeo wishes you Merry Christmas and of course a wonderful New Year. Clearly Christmas comes early to Arizona.
http://market.weogeo.com/datasets/topo_usgs_drg_topo_christmas_az/widget.html?zoom=4&lat=3903455.2326566&lon=-12327429.730608
USGS DRG Topo Christmas, AZ
A WeoGeo Christmas
Christmas Tree
Another year is close to ending and the kids are all snuggled in front of their Xbox 360s. I and everyone at WeoGeo wishes you Merry Christmas and of course a wonderful New Year. Clearly Christmas comes early to Arizona.
http://market.weogeo.com/datasets/topo_usgs_drg_topo_christmas_az/widget.html?zoom=4&lat=3903455.2326566&lon=-12327429.730608
USGS DRG Topo Christmas, AZ
The KML Problem
KML is if nothing well supported by many applications. We allow export of it at WeoGeo. But why is it every time I use it I get just a little bit angry? Take this simple OGR command:
ogr2ogr -where "description LIKE '%chair_lift%'" -f KML chair_lifts.kml output.kml "aerialway_line"See that LIKE? It’s in there because the KML has no database. I’m basically searching the description bubble and finding something. I felt pretty dirty after resorting to that hack. Of course you COULD create a KML that had more “fields” but those are few and far between. It might be my database background, but I almost require a database backend for me to actually use spatial files. So how do I interchange GIS?
- Shapefile - No, I already said I’m leaving.
- KML - No database, no bueno (can I have a t-shirt with that?)
- File Geodatabase - Non-standard outside of the Esri stack
- WKT - in an alternate timeline we are happy and this is our interchange format.
I could go on, but you get the point. GIS formats are either poor choices from a technological standpoint or they are poorly supported. I’ve joked around quite a bit about SpatiaLite being poorly supported, but maybe it is time for me to get back on that wagon. Consider this my goal for 2013, use SpatiaLite as my personal GIS file format of choice.
GeoMonkey SpatiaLite
The GeoMonkey is wearing his SpatiaLite jacket waiting for the bandwagon to show up.
The KML Problem
KML is if nothing well supported by many applications. We allow export of it at WeoGeo. But why is it every time I use it I get just a little bit angry? Take this simple OGR command:
ogr2ogr -where "description LIKE '%chair_lift%'" -f KML chair_lifts.kml output.kml "aerialway_line"See that LIKE? It’s in there because the KML has no database. I’m basically searching the description bubble and finding something. I felt pretty dirty after resorting to that hack. Of course you COULD create a KML that had more “fields” but those are few and far between. It might be my database background, but I almost require a database backend for me to actually use spatial files. So how do I interchange GIS?
- Shapefile - No, I already said I’m leaving.
- KML - No database, no bueno (can I have a t-shirt with that?)
- File Geodatabase - Non-standard outside of the Esri stack
- WKT - in an alternate timeline we are happy and this is our interchange format.
I could go on, but you get the point. GIS formats are either poor choices from a technological standpoint or they are poorly supported. I’ve joked around quite a bit about SpatiaLite being poorly supported, but maybe it is time for me to get back on that wagon. Consider this my goal for 2013, use SpatiaLite as my personal GIS file format of choice.
GeoMonkey SpatiaLite
The GeoMonkey is wearing his SpatiaLite jacket waiting for the bandwagon to show up.
Rethinking the GIS GUI
While working on a project late the other night, I was thinking about how basically all GIS software is the same:
https://twitter.com/jamesmfee/status/280541698508091392
I mean everything is bad. ArcGIS, MapInfo, QGIS, TileMill, Intergraph, Manifold and any other you wish to list are all a complete disaster. We are able to use them because we are familiar with their workflows, but at what cost to productivity? It is a sad state of affairs when I’m excited to use shp2pgsql. I’ve noticed that I’m using GDAL/OGR much more lately and I think it is because it makes me much more productive. Says Bill Dollins:
Bill Dollins Tweet
Now I remember something Scott Morehouse once said,
[ArcGIS] is scientific software
I don’t recall the exact context of the statement, just that it has stuck with me all these years. The more I think about it, the more I think he’s right. GIS is complicated and all over the place. Workflows are if anything, unique to each user. That’s what I think makes the command line so perfect, I have to create my workflow from scratch.
But that’s a cop-out. Scientific software doesn’t have to be hard. I’m not a math wiz by any means, but software such as Mathematica and MATLAT are easy enough for me use without reading a manual or take a class. Try that with ArcGIS or QGIS!
I was just about to write about how the GUI is bad because Esri got here first and screwed it up, but that’s too simple. Part of it is that the GIS software space is mature and stable. What I mean by this is that you don’t see new competitors releasing products and being disruptive. And since the software isn’t retail, there is no worry about the PC World review. Basically you create a wall around your software product and make it hard to move to another platform. Every GIS program falls into this trap.
NorK
If North Korea can launch a satellite, why can’t we have a good UI for GIS software?
So for me, I’m sticking to command line tools, proprietary or open source, to get my job done. You better understand how tools work when you use them one on one rather than some wizard. I don’t really know if GIS software can be fixed at this point. My suggestion is they keep allowing us to script with Python and stay out of our way. That’s a win/win in my book.