Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach (The International Series in Engineering and Computer Science)

Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach (The International Series in Engineering and Computer Science)
| 2004-09-21 00:00:00 | | 0 | Geographic Information Systems


Since the first edition of Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach was published in 2002, GRASS has undergone major improvements. This second edition includes numerous updates related to the new development; its text is based on the GRASS 5.3 version from December 2003. Besides changes related to GRASS 5.3 enhancements, the introductory chapters have been re-organized, providing more extensive information on import of external data. Most of the improvements in technical accuracy and clarity were based on valuable feedback from readers. Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach, Second Edition, provides updated information about the use of GRASS, including geospatial modeling with raster, vector and site data, image processing, visualization, and coupling with other open source tools for geostatistical analysis and web applications. A brief introduction to programming within GRASS encourages new development. The sample data set used throughout the book has been updated and is available on the GRASS web site. This book also includes links to sites where the GRASS software and on-line reference manuals can be downloaded and additional applications can be viewed. Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach, Second Edition is designed for a professional audience, composed of researchers and practitioners in government and industry. This book is also suitable as a secondary text for graduate-level students in geomatics, computer science and geosciences.

User review
Excellent book that covers all major topics of using GRASS GIS
I bought this book for 2 reasons: I had tried to use GRASS for vector data processing - with mixed success - in the past, and wanted to gain a better understanding of its capabilities; and also because I had just been assigned some fairly difficult elevation data processing, and raster-based spatial analysis was something I had little experience with. The book succeeds on both counts. It has well-written explanations of basic GIS principles, and also describes operations in enough detail that one can replicate them with their own data.


While an amazing GIS application (I would actually call it a `GIS environment`), GRASS is not without its quirks. The book does a good job of steering a reader around potential roadblocks, and focuses on getting one going about the business of doing useful work. For example, they recommend using the GUI to set up a project, but then have you move back to using the command line interface (CLI) and X-based display window to accomplish the bulk of the work. This is brilliant. It showcases the ease with which GRASS commands can be chained together, and how other UNIX commands can be interleaved in the command sequences. Make no mistake, this book is written for an audience that is either familiar with, or willing to learn some UNIX. That alone makes it a refreshing change from many other books which feel apologetic when they stray away from the apparent comfort of a MS Windows-based GUI. GUI's are mentioned, but only briefly, and not in a way intended to be a useful guide. People looking for how to use GRASS via a GUI'd application would be better served by Gary Sherman's `Desktop GIS` book, which discusses how to use GRASS through the excellent Quantum GIS application.


The book is logically laid out, and generally well written. There are a few small grammar quirks which tell me that the authors are not native English speakers, but they are minor, and don't actually cause the reader to stumble over any sections. Code sections are well-defined by the use of a different font, and so far I have not encountered any that contain errors. The book is well-illustrated, although at a cost of over $90, I take issue with the lack of color. This is a topic related to cartography after all, and color matters.


I highly recommend this book to people who want to learn how to use GRASS effectively, or to teachers who want to structure a GIS course around an open source application. There is enough GIS theory presented to teach an intro-to-mid-level course on GIS. GRASS gets a bad rap from many in the GIS profession, and this book should allow most people to get over the initial humps and get started with it in an effective way. Hats off to Neteler and Mitasova.

User review
Excellent
This is the most exciting GIS book I have picked up. Invaluable to the GIS professional. Documentation available online does not replace the material in this book.

User review
A big, big help for the novice
As some of the other reviews here indicate, it's not that easy for a novice to get started using GRASS. I had trouble installing GRASS on my ubuntu machine; then I had a hard time getting the GUI to do anything. Once I got the book, and began using the command-line interface rather than the GUI, it went very smoothly. The book is expensive, but when I figure that the book probably saved me a couple of weeks of frustration, I think it was worth the price. For those who haven't looked at it yet, GRASS is very impressive; the tie-ins with R make this the obvious GIS choice for anyone focusing on spatial statistics.

User review
OK Book, poor quality binding
The book covers many subjects broadly, from Remote Sensing, LIDAR as well as scanning historial maps. However, I found myself using the online users manual for the basics and step by step detail on HOW to use GRASS.


In addition, the binding of the book broke within 6 months, and about 25 pages fell out of the spine, with average use.

User review
An excelent book for beginners
I bought this book because I needed to use GRASS and R to produce maps with the results of statistical analysis. Though I am an experienced programmer, I had never used R neither any GIS. The tutorials available on the Internet were enough to learn R, but GRASS was a brick wall.

After reading and trying the examples until page 200, I found myself able to work with raster and vectorial maps. Since I was completely illiterate on GIS, I learned in the book how the raster and vector data are organized, how to alter and combine maps and how to manage the vector databases. The sections about R and GRASS integration was very useful. Although it was of no particular interest to me, there are several sections about spatial analysis tools, 2D and 3D output, image processing and GRASS programing.

The book is not an exhaustive descriptions of the commands, which should be found on the GRASS documentation. It is more like a hands-on tutorial that makes you familiar with the system and the commands, even if you are novice. It will also be useful for people familiar with the graphic interface of other systems who need to start working with the command line.