Contribute 🤝

OSS4gEO depends on your support! We welcome contributions in every form and shape, either making OSS4gEO's underlying software better, adding new projects to the OSS4gEO database or correcting/completing the documentation for the existing ones.

If you want to check out OSS4gEO software, check out our git!

If you are a FOSS project maintainer and you would like to contribute
to the mapping of the FOSS4G ecosystem, check out this tutorial on how to do it

DISCLAIMER

  • Please note that - during the implementation phase, up to January 2024 - the information on the foss projects registered in OSS4gEO is collected in two ways:

    1. automatically extracted from the public git repository and
    2. manually inserted by members of the implementation team
  • After the implementation phase, OSS4gEO will rely on community contributions.

  • Nor the implementation team, nor ESA takes responsibility on the accuracy of the information registered in OSS4gEO platform. If you identify any errors on OSS4gEO, please don't hesitate to contact us and help us correct it.

  • OSS4gEO is in Beta version!

OSS4gEO is an initiative designed and built by the community for the community, thus its success depends intrinsically on geospatial maintainers contributions. To map the geospatial open source ecosystem, the information we collect is listed in the tabel below. For a more in depth definition and reasons for the selected categories, please see.

Category

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
The following categories are defined: Core libraries - are defined as standalone packaged code that provide common capabilities across the various geospatial applications, allowing applications to easily add features/functionalities that otherwise would involve a great deal of implementation; Server-side - are defined as applications built to run on a server; Desktop - are defined as applications built to run locally, on a computer; Web tools - are defined as applications that allow a user to access, visualise, process geospatial data on the web; Mobile - are defined as applications that are built to run on mobile devices, such as tablets and mobile phones. Inserted by contributor. Mandatory Core libraries, server-side, desktop, web tools, mobile
Functionalities

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
In the context of OSS4gEO, “functionality” is defined as the set of features and capabilities that a software program is designed to perform. Inserted by contributor. Mandatory Data management; Spatial analysis ; Cartography and visualisation; Geocoding and georeferencing; Remote sensing analysis; 3D modeling; Mobile data collection.
Governance model

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
A governance model represents the sum of all rules that defines who is allowed to do what and how decisions are made, within the open source project. There are multiple governance models recognized in the open source world, that have been thoroughly documented by RedHat in the “A guide to open source project governance models” Inserted by contributor. Mandatory Do-ocracy; Founder-leader; Self-appointing council or board; Electoral; Corporate-backed; Foundation-backed
Chat channels/forums + links

Definition and collection method Relevance
Official channles of communication for the user and developers communities, for example Telegram, Mattermost, Slack, Gitter, Discourse, official mailing lists. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have
Number of total subscribers for all chat channels (for each channel)

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have
Number of contributors (maintainers vs. one-timers)

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
Number of coders that contribute under a company umbrella

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have
Number of commits per week/month

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
Total releases

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
Latest release

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
First release

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
Watchers

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
Repository size

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Mandatory
Numeber of downloads

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
Number of forks

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Mandatory
User organizations

Definition and collection method Relevance
Organizations that uses the software in their operations. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have
User dedicated events

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have
Programming language 1

Definition and collection method Relevance
In the context of OSS4gEO platform, the first most used programming languages for the core development as well as for the plugins/addons of the foss project are considered. Automated from public repo. Mandatory
Programming language 2

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
Programming language ..n

Definition and collection method Relevance
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Nice to have
Main organization

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
It refers to the type of organisation under which the foss project is steered - administratively, as well as technically. In the context of OSS4gEO, 3 categories are defined: University based: the core group steering the project is based in an university department, academic research centre or the project is sustained through a research project; Community based: the core group steering the project is organised as a or under a not for profit organisation Privately based: the core group steering the project is actively using working hours at the private company to develop and manage the project; Individual(s): the project is managed by one or more individuals, as natural persons. Automated from public repo. Mandatory University, community, privately, individual
License

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
Selfexplanatory. Automated from public repo. Mandatory Existing licences taken from OSI and Free Software Foundation
Main dependencies

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
In the OSS4gEO context, a software main dependency is understood as a component without which the foss project in question can not function properly. Optional dependencies will not be considered at this stage of implementation. Inserted by contributor. Mandatory All the other foss projects inserted into the platform + possibility to add a new entry
Standards category compliance

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
In the context of OSS4gEO, a standard is an agreed specification of rules and guidelines about how to implement software interfaces and data encodings. At this point, we are considering striclty OGC standards. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have Encoding, access, processing, visualisation, metadata and catalogue services
Data Encoding Standards

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
Encoding standards provide rules that determine how to organize information, typically sent by a service provider or produced by an application. An encoding standard might specify how to organize information encoded in, for example a text file, binary or XML. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have GeoPackage, Geographic Markup Language GML
Data Access Standards

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
Data access standards define the way of creating, retrieving, updating or deleting geospatial information offered by a service and thus allowing an application to invoke any of this behavior. Further, it allows an application accessible over a network to describe itself and the resources it offers in order for another application across the network to know what behavior is supported and what resources are available. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have OGC API - Features, OGC API - Environmental Data Retrieval, Web Features Service, Web Coverage Service, SensorThings API. Sensor Observation Service
Processing Standards

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
A processing standard allows execution of computational tasks that can be offered by a server through a network and be invoked by a client application. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have Web Processing WPS Service, OGC API - Process
Visualisation Standards

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
A vizualizing standard allows applications to provide, view and query interactive maps on the web. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have Web Map Service WMS, Web Map Tile Service WMTS, KML, Styled Layer Descriptor SLD, Symbology Encoding SE, OGCP API - Tiles
Metadata and Catalogue Services Standards

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
The metadata and catalogue service standards define the way in which metadata is structured and made available for discoverbaility and query via a network by an application. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have Catalogue Services for the Web CSW, SpatioTemporal Asset Catalogues STAC
Manner of standard implementation

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
For each standard implemented, this category Inserted by contributor Nice to have It shows in which way each standard with which the particuar foss project is compliant with, has been implemented. It can be native or by additional developments (addons, plugins etc.) Inserted by contributor.
Type of standard implementation

Definition and collection method Relevance Predefined categories
Selfexplanatory. Inserted by contributor. Nice to have Consumes, exposes, both