[udig-devel] Fwd: [Freegis-list] Binary Format For Features

["Sunburned Surveyor" <sunburned.surveyor@xxxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mar 30, 2007 9:32 AM
Subject: Re: [Freegis-list] Binary Format For Features
To: Sunburned Surveyor <sunburned.surveyor@xxxxxxxxx>

Sunburned Surveyor wrote:
> I'm currently talking with some of the other OpenJUMP developers about a
> simple binary format that we can use to store Features in a way that
> complements the storage of geometries in the OpenGIS
> Well-Known-Binary WKB format. I thought this might be of interest to
> other open source GIS projects, so I am sending a brief message here.
> I'd be willing to work with developers from other projects on a format
> that could be used by other applications.
>
> I've put a rough draft of the format here:
> 
http://thejumppilotproject.pbwiki.com/OpenJUMP-Binary-Feature-Format
>
> Let me know if your interested, or if you have any suggestions. I hope
> to finalize the format in the next week or two. In the next month or two
> I hope to have a working parser for the binary format in Java that will
> be released under the GPL through the SurveyOS SourceForge Project.

Landon,

I am interested in this effort.  I think a binary "simple features" file format
with the potential for efficient access is interesting, and valuable, and I
might like to implement support for it in OGR as well.

I reviewed 
http://thejumppilotproject.pbwiki.com/OpenJUMP-Binary-Feature-Format
and what is there looks good, but it seems incomplete.

For instance, the header appears to be a feature header, rather than file
header, is that right?  Shouldn't there be some sort of file level header
or is it intended that a file is just a collection of features appended?

I'd like some options for efficient access.  The most obvious thing needed
for this is an index to the features relating feature id with offset in
the file.  This also gives the opportunity to add a spatial index, perhaps
as a seperate file, at some point in the future.

Is there a good place to discuss this?

PS. I think it would be great if a Java implementation of this could be done
in a way that would easily drop into Geotools without license conflicts.
I think Geotools is LGPL, is that right?

Best regards,
--
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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam@xxxxxxxxx
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGeo, http://osgeo.org