I’ve worked with PostgreSQL for a while now, but everytime I perform a new
install (usually with PostGIS added on soon after the initial install) I am amazed
at how simple it is and how smoothly it goes. In the past, I’ve worked on some
pretty complex database installs – especially complex, at least for me, when
installing to a Linux system – but it really only takes a few minutes to get
PostGIS up and running on a database on any
platform.
If you haven’t checked them out, you should go download them both now. And
if you want an open source desktop interface, there are a number of options that
plug directly into PostGIS, including Quantum GIS and uDig. With them you can easily connect to a PostGIS database,
and load (check out the Import Shapefiles to PostgreSQL plugin for Quantum
GIS) and edit data. On top of this, you can greatly extend Quantum GIS’
capabilities by using it as a graphical user interface for GRASS.
I agree with others that the major “gap” in the open source GIS arena is on
the client side of things. At this point, there isn’t an interface that rivals
the ArcGIS Desktop suite. The products that are available, though, do serve a
purpose. And if you’re willing to put the time into learning and integrating
them, they fill a huge niche that is left empty by ESRI.
As for the open source spatially-aware database, however, PostgreSQL and
PostGIS offer a viable – albeit not as powerful – alternative to the expensive
proprietary solutions. The two combined don’t work for every scenario, but they
do work for a surprising number of cases.
More to come on all of these solutions later…