Announcement of interest to the GRASS GIS community
GRASS support functions being assumed by Rutgers University
Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA)
The Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA)
is pleased to announce that, effective Dec. 1, 1994, we are assuming the GRASS
support and distribution functions that were formerly being providedby OGF, the
Open GRASS Foundation (later Open GIS Foundation) of Boston Mass.
The open computing in GIS philosophy that is the spirit of GRASS and OGF has
inspired an extremely significant new initiative. OGF has founded a non-profit
trade association, the Open GIS Consortium (OGC), to organize resources and
community support for development of the Open Geodata Interoperability
Specification (OGIS). This activity, along with a reduction in funding from
federal agencies to the Foundation, has made it impossible for them to continue
to provide support to the GRASS community, and they have decided to stop all
GRASS-related activities. The Board of Directors who met on Nov. 30,
1994, voted to pass all GRASS-related activities to Rutgers University.
The three main GRASS-related activities at OGF were 1) GRASS CD-ROM and manual
distribution and the fielding of telephone and fax queries, 2) production of the
"GRASSClippings" quarterly newsletter, and 3) the arrangement of the annual
GRASS users meeting.
As you may know, these support activities were originally provided by the U.S.
Army CERL lab, original developers of the GRASS software. In 1993, with the
support of the GRASS Interagency Steering Committee, the non-profit Open GIS
Foundation (OGF) was formed to manage GRASS distribution, support,
documentation, and user meetings and to help for-profit companies integrate
GRASS into their commercial activities.
The transfer of GRASS responsibilities to Rutgers promises to bring a number of
benefits to the user community. First, GRASS fits well in an academic setting.
The Center is staffed by people who understand GIS, image processing, UNIX, and
a wide variety of application disciplines.
Scott Madry, Director of the Center and a member of the boards of directors of
OGF and OGC, is a long-time GRASS proponent. He teaches GRASS courses at the
Center and at other sites, and he is enthusiastic about sustaining the GRASS
community. Financially, a new approach is necessary. Income from sales of
documentation, videos, and GRASS CD-ROMs has not been enough to fund OGF
activities. While GRASS continues to grow in the academic and international
areas, with a few notable exceptions such as LAS, commercialization of GRASS
has not been successful. Government agencies that supported GRASS development
in the past are reducing the amount of funding directed towards GRASS. At the
same time, GRASS continues to be an extremely popular GIS and image processing
software package and development environment. We would very much like to see an
open discussion and debate about where we as a community want to go, what
services we want to have provided, how the services that cost money can be
funded, and how we can best achieve these goals.
First, let us tell you what we at Rutgers are planning to do in the near term.
The GRASS CD-ROMs and manuals will continue to be available, now through
Rutgers instead of OGF. We will take over the general telephone and email
queries as well. We will coordinate with CERL the next major release of GRASS
(version 5.0) now scheduled for late 1995. We will provide a CD-ROM and
documentation for that release, which will be available through us, as well as
on-line from the CERL server. We will try to put as much of the GRASS related
information presently provided by OGF on-line. GRASSClippings, the magazine of
the GRASS user community, will not be continued in the current color format
seen in recent issues. GRASSCLIPPINGS will now be offered as a Mosaic home
page magazine, a window into volumes of GRASS-related information contained in
linked files residing on servers around the world. There will be a URL
directory of GRASS-related user sites, projects, data providers, meetings,
training courses, etc. The goal is to take the GRASSClippings into the future
by making it a "virtual" GIS magazine. This will both reduce the actual cost
and broaden its distribution.
As for the GRASS User's meeting, we have not decided what to do. What do WE,
the GRASS user community want to have? Do we want or need an annual meeting?
Should it be dropped? Are there universities or others out there that would be
willing to host and organize a GRASS meeting for 1995? Could we combine the
GRASS meeting with an existing program like GIS/LIS, ASPRS, or URISA? We hope
that we, together as a community, can provide an answer to this issue that will
meet our needs.
There has been a great deal of discussion about the future of the GRASS GIS
software and community. Some feel that GRASS is dying, overtaken by events or
"beaten" by the commercial packages. Many others (like ourselves) feel that
GRASS is a vital and organic environment, and that there is an important need
for a high-quality, public domain GIS and image processing environment to
compliment the commercial models currently offered. In the end, the future of
the GRASS software and user community is what we make of it together. We at
Rutgers want to work together with you all in making GRASS, and more
importantly what the grass community stands for, a viable
force in the future of the international GIS community.
Carine ONeil is the CRSSA staff member that currently handles our distribution
and support activities for the GRASS Global CD-ROM project. She will assume the
task of taking your phone calls, taking orders for GRASS products, providing
basic technical support, and putting you in touch with people who can help you
in other ways. We hope to have the Mosaic CLIPPINGS operating in January.
Contact her at:
Carine O'Neil
Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis
Box 231 Cook, Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0231 USA
tel. (908) 932-1582/3 fax (908) 932-8746
coneil@ocean.rutgers.edu
To begin our discussion, the following is a questionnaire designed to get us
all thinking about the issues, and to provide you with a mechanism to provide
your feedback on who you are, and what you feel about the important issues that
the GRASS community faces. It takes time, but please consider filling out a
questionnaire. We will post the results on the GRASS-L discussion group and
GIS-L. We look forward to reading your comments and ideas and working together
with you all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GRASS Community Questionnaire
The Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA)
has assumed the GRASS support and distribution functions that were formerly
being provided by the Open GRASS Foundation (later Open GIS Foundation) of
Boston Mass. In order to more effectively serve the GRASS user and development
communities, we are asking that current or potential GRASS GIS users provide us
with information about their activities and their vision of the future of the
GRASS software and community. Please fax or email your response, as well as any
additional comments or suggestions, to:
Scott Madry or Carine O'Neil
Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis
Box 231 Cook, Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0231 USA
tel. (908) 932-1582/3 fax (908) 932-8746
madry@ocean.rutgers.edu coneil@ocean.rutgers.edu
Name Organization________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Country______________Postal Code ____________________________
Tel. ____________________________Fax.________________________
Name of Person Responding____________________________________
Title _______________________________________________________
email______________________________________________________
Mosaic URL of Organization____________________________________
Type of Organization: University________ National Gov't agency________
Individual ______State Gov't________ Local Gov't________
International agency_____Commercial_______ Non-Profit________
School________Other__________________________________________________
GIS Software Used (please indicate number of seats or licenses) GRASS________
Arc/Info________ ILWIS________Idrisi________ MGE________
AutoCad________MapInfo_______ Genasys________
Other__________________________________________________
Hardware environment used for GIS/remote sensing/GPS work
(please indicate general number of computers for each)
DOS________ MAC________ WINDOWS________SUN________ DEC________
Silicon Graphics________LINUX_______ Intergraph________
IBM Risc 6000________Other____________________________________________
GIS/Remote Sensing Applications
Archaeology________ Biology________ Coastal Studies________
Environment________Military________Mapping________Marine______Urban____
Park Mgmt_______ AM/FM________ Transportation_______ Utilities________ Wildlife
Mgmt.________ Other__________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
What version(s) of GRASS do you currently use? _______________
How did you find out about GRASS? Magazine (name)_________________ Friend____
Mosaic_________ University (name)__________________ Other_____________________
How did you acquire GRASS? CD-ROM_____ Internet (moon)_____ Tape______
Friend_____Agency_________ Other_________________________
How would you prefer to acquire GRASS in the future CD-ROM_____ Internet_____
Tape_____ Friend_____ Agency_________ Other_________________________
Tel. ____________________________Fax.________________________
Do you want:
Source code Y___ N___
Compiled code Y___ N___ which compiled code?_________________
Both Y___ N___
Why do you use the GRASS GIS? Please rank from 1 to 10, meaning most important
(1) to least important (10)
Cost_____ Open Programming Environment____ Customer(s) use GRASS______ Ease of
use______ Agency or company mandates its use_______
Specific capabilities (list)__________________________________
Other__________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
What kind of general uses for GRASS are there at your site?
University teaching __________research_______applications______
code development_____contracting________short courses_____
other__________________________________________________
If you use GRASS for teaching, what kind of
courses?_______________________________________________________
What other GIS/RS software do you teach
with?__________________________________________________________
How would you rate GRASS as a teaching GIS (on a scale of 1-10 with 1 the best
and 10 the worst) ____________
What do you like about teaching using GRASS?___________________
______________________________________________________________
What do you not like about teaching using
GRASS?___________________________________________
What developments would you like to see that would help you the most in teaching
using GRASS?____________________________________
_______________________________________________________
GENERAL GRASS CAPABILITIES What do you see as the best general features of
GRASS?______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
What do you see as the worst features or greatest limitations of
GRASS?_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
GRASS MEETINGS How should the GRASS user community address the issue of meetings?
These cost money, and require significant administrative effort to plan and host.
We would like your ideas about how (or if) we should do future meetings.
Should there be future GRASS meetings? Yes___No___
What would most influence your decision to attend a GRASS meeting in the future
(put a number in order of importance, with 1 being the most important)
cost____location____ What is your preferred location?________________
content and quality of papers_____Vendor booths____Seeing friends___
"Birds of a feather" meetings___Fun__ Hearing Scott Madry Sing_____
When would you most prefer such a meeting (month)______________
Would you consider hosting a future GRASS users meeting? Y__N___
where_________________________when_________________________
Would you prefer a: (please rank 1-7, with 1 being the best)
Stand-alone GRASS users meeting_______ Regional mtgs.____
Joint meeting with URISA_______ASPRS_____GIS/LIS_______
European meeting_______ Asian/Pacific rim meeting_________
Other___________________________________________________
GRASSCLIPPINGS ISSUES In the past, there has been a color newsletter/magazine
dealing with GRASS, funded partly through paid advertisements. Rutges wants to
produce a "virtual GRASSCLIPPINGS" as a mosaic home page on the internet. Your
comments are requested.
Do you like the idea of a Mosaic-based "Virtual GRASSCLIPPINGS" magazine on the
Internet? Y___ N___
Do you currently have a Mosaic home page URL that could be "connected"?
Yes______No_____
If yes, please list it:____________________________________________
Provide the email address of the person responsible for it
___________________________________________________________
Would you be willing to provide articles/papers/news/etc. via Mosaic for the
Virtual Clippings? Yes____ No____ Explain__________________________
Do you have a better name for the new electronic
Clippings?___________________________________________________________
How do we serve those without Mosaic
capability_____________________________________________________
GRASS USERS GROUP ISSUES In the past, the official functions of organizing GRASS
activities have been handled by the Open GRASS Foundation. Now that the OGF is
gone, we should discuss the future of the grass users group. We want to propose
that we create a new organization to coordinate GRASS-related activities.
Should there be a new GRASS Users Organization? Y___ N___
Do you have a suggestion for a name for the new GRASS users
group____________________________________________________________
Should this new organization be :
a legal entity (non-profit corporation, etc.)? Y___ N___
a loosely organized user group Y___ N___
other structure____________________________________________
Don't really care _____
Do we need to form a new GRASS users group Steering Committee
Y___ N___
Would you be willing to participate in a meaningful way (meaning time and effort)
by serving on a Steering Committee? Y__ N__
Can I put your name on a list that will be posted on grass-l to be voted on by
the community within the next month or so. Y__ N__
It costs money to provide many of the services that have been available to the
GRASS community in the past. How should we (or should we) consider raising funds
for future GRASS activities?
Would you pay individual membership dues? Y____ N____
How much would you be willing to pay per year $_________
Should ther be a group or organizational membership? Y___ N___
How much would your organization be willing to pay per year ? $______
Should we try to get grants to fund GRASS activities from standard granting
organizations Y___ N___
Which ones?______________________________
Other ________________________
Don't feel the need to raise funds_____
GRASS DISTRIBUTION AND RELEASE ISSUES
GRASS currently resides in the public domain, with free access to source code
available on the internet. This is one of its great strengths. CD-ROMs and
documentation are available for nominal cost from Rutgers, and there are
commercial spin-off versions that are available. Primary development and release
coordination costs are significant, and are still provided by CERL (and others).
If this model changes, how would you like to see GRASS distribution and release
coordination (which costs real money and staff) handled in the future after the
5.0 release (please rate 1-10, with 1 being the most preferable, and 10 being
the least).
___ As is, in the public domain, with source available on the internet for
free, source and compiled code available on CD-ROM and manuals available for a
small fee.
___Stop public domain status with 5.0, and transition GRASS to an "IDRISI" like
model, with Rutgers providing all support, new development, documentation, new
ports, etc. for a reasonable fee per release.
What is a reasonable fee for each new release for such a complete
product/service?
Academic US $ 100_________ Commercial US $ 100_________
Academic US $ 300_________ Commercial US $ 300_________
Academic US $ 500_________ Commercial US $ 500_________
Academic US $ 1,000_________ Commercial US $ 1,000_________
Other US $ _________________
Other proposed model___________________________________________________
GRASS DEVELOPMENT ISSUES The GRASS community includes a large number of
technical development sites around the world. The issue of how (or if) we
should coordinate GRASS development in the wider international community along
with the two primary development sites (USA/CERL and USDA SCS) should be
considered, especially if or
when they reduce their development activities significantly.
Should future GRASS development be coordinated? Y___ N___
What are the five most important GRASS development areas that need to be
addressed (what does GRASS most need that it doesn't have now)?
1)___________________________________________________________
2)___________________________________________________________
3)___________________________________________________________
4)___________________________________________________________
5)___________________________________________________________
Would you or your facility be interested in participating in a new GRASS
development consortium or group that will serve as a clearinghouse for
coordinating and sharing development activities. Y___ N___
How should such a consortium be aranged to produce future GRASS releases beyond
version 5.0 if CERL/SCS no longer supports future releases? How can the
responsibilities and costs be shared?_________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Would you be willing to support a site at your facility that would be
responsible for grass ports and configuration maintenance for a particular
HW/OS configuration? Y__ N__
If yes, what configuration? _______________________________
CERL currently maintains the "moon" server that contains the GRASS source code,
documentation, etc. While there is no immediate intention at CERL to stop, it
is realistic to assume that this arrangement will not continue indefinately. If
CERL decides to stop maintaining the server in the future, what would you
suggest as an alternative?
_____Find a new site to maintain the public domain server
(Apx. 1 full time system manager time and cost, plus equipment)
How would such a site be funded?______________________
Would you be willing to provide (and fund) such a site at your
facility? Y__ N__
_____Find a new site to maintain a server that would charge some access fee.
What charge would be acceptable? US$ _____________
_____Stop the maintenance of a centralized server
Other___________________________________________________________
Thank you very much for your input into this process. We at Rutgers are very
excited about beginning this new chapter in the GRASS story, and we will do
everyting we can to make it a success. We will be collecting your responses and
putting them on grass-l in the near future. Feel free to contact us at any
time.
Scott Madry, Associate Director
Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis
Rutgers University
tel (908) 932-1581/2 fax (908) 932-8746
madry@ocean.rutgers.edu
or
Carine O'Neil, GRASS Coordinator
same address
tel (908) 932-1582 same fax#
coneil@ocean.rutgers.edu