You’ve heard some buzz about Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) technology. You’re intrigued to know more, but hesitant because it seems a bit overwhelming. What is a newbie to do – how do you even know where to start? Taking the first step can be very intimidating, especially if you don’t feel “qualified”, e.g. no programming experience. We’ve been there! This session will present a collection of perspectives and experiences from non-techie newbies who are going through the process of learning FOSS4G software from scratch. We’ll cover common questions and doubts about how to get started, obstacles to avoid, and strategies and helpful resources to help you succeed.

1. Getting Started with FOSS4G:
The Newbie’s Perspective
Marcelle Caturia, Ricardo Oliveira, Jon Duckworth
GISITR - 2015

2. Why Are We Here Today?
• Each of us has a different background, experience,
and area of interest.
• None of us are programmers, and we don’t have
years of experience in FOSS4G.
• We are here to share our personal stories and
inspire the audience to adventure into the world of
FOSS4G.

3. Personal Stories

4. Marcelle Caturia

5. Background
MA in Applied Geography & Geospatial Science: UC-Denver
• Past GIS studies at University of Minnesota
Student Geographer Intern: US Geological Survey
• US-Topo Contour Support Team
FOSS4G Familiarity: 1 out of 5
• Beginning-level experience with MapServer
(FOSS4G tool for serving dynamic maps via Internet)

6. Encountering FOSS4G
Programming Experience: None
“GIS and the Internet” course at UMN,
Steve Lime (MapServer Inventor)
MapServer hands-on experience
Resulted in two applied projects
http://mapserver.org

7. • Two dynamic mapping websites, both using
MapServer + HTML + CSS + JavaScript
• US Army Corps of Engineers CRREL Lab
 Internal website providing climate data for Alaska
• UMN Department of Forest Resources
 Online teaching tool re: Water Resources in Minnesota
Projects using MapServer

8. FOSS4G Lessons Learned…

9. FOSS4G Lessons Learned…
1. No Fear!
• Don’t hesitate to dive in and ask questions
• Additional resources: Documentation, Listservs, more…
• You can learn a new tool, it just takes practice

10. FOSS4G Lessons Learned…
1. No Fear!
• Don’t hesitate to dive in and ask questions
• Additional resources: Documentation, Listservs, more…
• You can learn a new tool, it just takes practice
2. Focus on the "G“ (Geospatial) part of FOSS4G
• Geospatial concepts are independent of tools
• Might feel like learning a foreign language at first…
• But now I’m not intimidated by learning more FOSS4G

11. RICARDO OLIVEIRA

12. BACKGROUND
▪ Bachelors in Geography with a GIS certificate from UC-Denver
▪ Current student at the M.A in Applied Geography and Geospatial
Science at UC-Denver
▪ Currently a Student Contractor at the USGS
▪ Provide Web-Mapping applications and other visualization
solutions
▪ FOSS4G Familiarity: 2 out of 5

13. GETTING STARTED WITH FOSS4G…
BUT WHY?
▪ Summer of 2014;
▪ Started with PostGIS because I wanted to learn about DBMS;
▪ No Spatial DBMS class on the GIS program;
▪ Chose PostgreSQL/PostGIS because it was free!
▪ Then I needed some desktop app to see the data, I chose QGIS.

14. WEB-MAPPING
In the Open-Source world things are more connected than what they appear at first.
Database
(PostGIS)

15. WEB-MAPPING
In the Open-Source world things are more connected than what they appear at first.
Database
(PostGIS)
Desktop App
(QGIS)

16. WEB-MAPPING
In the Open-Source world things are more connected than what they appear at first.
Database
(PostGIS)
Build Web Maps
Desktop App
(QGIS)

17. WEB-MAPPING
In the Open-Source world things are more connected than what they appear at first.
Database
(PostGIS)
Web Service
(GeoServer)
Build Web Maps
Desktop App
(QGIS)

18. WEB-MAPPING
In the Open-Source world things are more connected than what they appear at first.
Database
(PostGIS)
Web Service
(GeoServer)
Build Web Maps
JavaScript
(Leaflet.js)
HTML/CSSDesktop App
(QGIS)
Result...

19. WEB-MAPPING

20. TAKEAWAYS
▪ Be prepared to learn a lot in a short period of time, but keep in mind
that you may be doing things “wrong”, and THIS IS OKAY!

21. TAKEAWAYS
▪ Be prepared to learn a lot in a short period of time, but keep in mind
that you may be doing things “wrong”, and THIS IS OKAY!
▪ Always look at new technologies, never take things as absolute truth.

22. TAKEAWAYS
▪ Be prepared to learn a lot in a short period of time, but keep in mind
that you may be doing things “wrong”, and THIS IS OKAY!
▪ Always look at new technologies, never take things as absolute truth.
▪ Be curious, always look at the code of a map or web-page that you
like. (right-click + inspect element).

23. Jon Duckworth

24. Background
M.Eng. - Civil Engineering | Univ. of Colorado Denver (2013- 2015)
• Introduction to proprietary & FOSS4G software

25. Background
M.Eng. - Civil Engineering | Univ. of Colorado Denver (2013- 2015)
• Introduction to proprietary & FOSS4G software
Intern & GIS Scientist | Nat. Renewable Energy Lab (2014-2015)
• Web development, interactive data visualization, analysis

26. Background
M.Eng. - Civil Engineering | Univ. of Colorado Denver (2013- 2015)
• Introduction to proprietary & FOSS4G software
Intern & GIS Scientist | Nat. Renewable Energy Lab (2014-2015)
• Web development, interactive data visualization, analysis
FOSS4G Familiarity: 2 out of 5
HTML/CSS/JS PostgreSQL/PostGIS,
GDAL/OGR Python R

27. How much of a
newbie am I?

29. Course Work
Relational Database Management Systems
Matt Krusemark, University of Colorado Denver
PostgreSQL/PostGIS GDAL/OGR
Deploying GIS Functionality on the Web
Rafael Moreno, University of Colorado Denver
Proprietary web-GIS software HTML/CSS Mapserver

30. Volunteer Project

31. Volunteer Project
• Worked with Thorne
Nature Experience
(non-profit)
• Designed web interface
• Managed and analyzed
data for reports

33. Data Management
Spatial Analysis

34. Data Management
Spatial Analysis
Data Type Conversion
SRS Transformation

35. Data Management
Spatial Analysis
Data Type Conversion
SRS Transformation
Data Structure

36. Data Management
Spatial Analysis
Data Type Conversion
SRS Transformation
Data Structure
Web Mapping
Interface Design

37. Data Management
Spatial Analysis
Data Type Conversion
SRS Transformation
Data Structure
Web Mapping
Interface Design

38. NREL Internship

39. Lessons Learned
Find a project!
Client will force quality
work and realistic problem
solving
Deadline will prevent
going in circles and trying
to make things perfect

40. Lessons Learned
Find a project!
Client will force quality
work and realistic problem
solving
Deadline will prevent
going in circles and trying
to make things perfect
Seek mentorship
Online forums for questions
and technical help
Meetup Groups to build
community and network
FOSS4G Lab Network

41. Overall Take Home Messages
• Find a project
• Seek mentorship

42. Overall Take Home Messages
• Find a project
• Seek mentorship
• Look for examples
• Take advantage of resources

43. Overall Take Home Messages
• Find a project
• Seek mentorship
• Look for examples
• Take advantage of resources
• Focus on the Geospatial part of FOSS4G
• No fear!

45. Resources
UC Denver FOSS4G Lab: http://geospatial.ucdenver.edu/foss4g/
International Lab Network: http://www.geoforall.org/

46. Q & A
Time