Development
Gary Sherman began development of Quantum GIS in early 2002, and it became an incubator project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation in 2007. Version 1.0 was released in January 2009.
Written in C++, Quantum GIS makes extensive use of the Qt library. Quantum GIS allows integration of plugins developed using either C++ or Python. In addition to Qt, required dependencies of Quantum GIS include GEOS and SQLite. GDAL, GRASS GIS, PostGIS, and PostgreSQL are also recommended, as they provide access to additional data formats.
Quantum GIS runs on multiple operating systems including Mac OS X, Linux, UNIX, and Microsoft Windows. For Mac users, the advantage of Quantum GIS over GRASS GIS is that it does not require the X11 windowing system in order to run, and the interface is much cleaner and faster. Quantum GIS can also be used as a graphical user interface to GRASS. Quantum GIS has a small file size compared to commercial GIS's and requires less RAM and processing power; hence it can be used on older hardware or running simultaneously with other applications where CPU power may be limited.
Quantum GIS is maintained by an active group of volunteer developers who regularly release updates and bug fixes. As of 2012 developers have translated Quantum GIS into 48 languages and the application is used internationally in academic and professional environments.
Read more about this topic: Quantum GIS
Famous quotes containing the word development:
“To be sure, we have inherited abilities, but our development we owe to thousands of influences coming from the world around us from which we appropriate what we can and what is suitable to us.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“The development of civilization and industry in general has always shown itself so active in the destruction of forests that everything that has been done for their conservation and production is completely insignificant in comparison.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“Information about child development enhances parents’ capacity to respond appropriately to their children. Informed parents are better equipped to problem-solve, more confident of their decisions, and more likely to respond sensitively to their children’s developmental needs.”
—L. P. Wandersman (20th century)