Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach (Kluwer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Markus Neteler, Helena Mitasova
Publisher: Springer
Category: Book
Buy New: $119.00
New (2) Used (6) from $118.43
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 2012318
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 468
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 1402070888
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.285
EAN: 9781402070884
ASIN: 1402070888
Publication Date: June 30, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 months
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach was written for experienced GIS users, who want to learn GRASS, as well as for the Open Source software users who are GIS newcomers. Following the Open Source model of GRASS, the book includes links to sites where the GRASS system and on-line reference manuals can be downloaded and additional applications can be viewed. The project's website can be reached at http://grass.itc.it and a number of mirror sites worldwide. Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach, provides basic information about the use of GRASS from setting up the spatial database, through working with raster, vector and site data, to image processing and hands-on applications. This book also contains a brief introduction to programming within GRASS encouraging the new GRASS development. The power of computing within Open Source environment is illustrated by examples of the GRASS usage with other Open Source software tools, such as GSTAT, R statistical language, and linking GRASS to MapServer. Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach is designed to meet the needs of a professional audience composed of researchers and practitioners in industry and graduate level students in Computer Science and Geoscience.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 A big, big help for the novice August 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
 OK Book, poor quality binding July 23, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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.
An excelent book for beginners April 8, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
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.
A must for a GRASS user February 8, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach is now on its third edition. I have all three editions. It is remarkable how much the program has advanced in six years. The third edition deals with version 6.x and is still invaluable to older users and new users alike. Many changes occurred between 5.x and 6.x. Sites have been replaced with point vectors. The GUI interface has advanced. Things are just not done the same way they used to be and since this is a UNIX program, the changes may not be intuitive for people used to the Mac or Windows OS.
GRASS is a free alternative to to ARC GIS. This book will help the user to unleash GRASS's power.
A very good introduction to the many capabilities of GRASS GIS January 9, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I waited several months for this 3rd edition of Neteler and Mitasova's 'Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach'. I'm not disappointed.
Pros:
1. The book is a major re-write of the earlier edition, and uses GRASS version 6.x - which has many improvements from earlier GRASS versions
2. It has tons of example applications, drawn and derived from an up-to-date sample dataset for North Carolina. Examples span the fields of hydrology, remote sensing,and a large number of standard GIS operations on vector and raster datasets.
3. It is well organized and succinct in its language.
Cons:
1. There are several typos.
2. Some of the examples may not exactly work on your own system - the authors acknowledge this, as each version of GRASS has some variations in dependent packages and libraries.
3. Some of the pages are not cross-referenced right.
[...]
To summarize:
I first used GRASS (version 4.3) in the year 2000. While I recognized back then how powerful GRASS is, I found it quite difficult to learn and to appreciate. In 2005-07, I revisited GRASS (version 6.0) for my dissertation research, and found that it had improved vastly. This book is an excellent way for readers to get a taste of how powerful GRASS 6.x is. It will be most useful for students and researchers who learn by doing - you will not learn GRASS (or any other GIS software) by just reading. Also, this book alone will not answer all your questions about GRASS - use the friendly and resourceful GRASS mailing lists for specific help with your own GRASS GIS projects.
Get into this book and GRASS GIS, only if you are willing to use the command line! If you are a programmer and are used to learning new languages/software, you probably do not need this book - the material on the GRASS website would be enough for you. If like me, you dont consider yourself a programmer but 'can do' when needed, this book will be very useful.
I hope that a more affordable paperback version of the third edition comes out!
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