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The open-source movement: an introduction for forestry professionals

Informally Refereed

Abstract

In recent years, the open-source movement has yielded a generous and powerful suite of software and utilities that rivals those developed by many commercial software companies. Open-source programs are available for many scientific needs: operating systems, databases, statistical analysis, Geographic Information System applications, and object-oriented programming. Using "real world" examples, including applications employed by Federal agencies, we address the concerns associated with open-source software deployment: cost, security, software availability, and usability. The potential for application to U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data is discussed.

Parent Publication

Citation

Proctor, Patrick; Van Deusen, Paul C.; Heath, Linda S.; Gove, Jeffrey H. 2005. The open-source movement: an introduction for forestry professionals. In: Proceedings of the fifth annual forest inventory and analysis symposium; 2003 November 18-20; New Orleans, LA. Gen. Tech. Rep. WO-69. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 222p.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/14940