Whitebox Geospatial Analysis Tools
Encyclopedia
Whitebox Geospatial Analysis Tools (GAT) is an open-source Geographic information system
(GIS) and remote sensing software package that is distributed under the GNU General Public License
. It has been developed by the members of the University of Guelph
Centre for Hydrogeomatics and is intended for advanced geospatial analysis and data visualization in research and education settings. The package features a friendly graphical user interface
(GUI) with help and documentation built into the dialog boxes for each of the more than 180 analysis tools. Users are also able to access extensive off-line and online help resources. The Whitebox GAT project started as a replacement for the Terrain Analysis System (TAS), a geospatial analysis software package written by John Lindsay.
Whitebox GAT is extendible. Users are able to create and add custom tools or plugins using any .NET language, including VB.NET, C#, and IronPython. The software also allows scripting using the Python
programming language. Scripting relies on the Whitebox Application Programming Interface
(API). The current release does not support vector data structures although future development plans include support for Shapefiles.
, the task of interpreting the code is made even more difficult. For some open-source projects, these characteristics can create a divide between the development and user communities, often restricting future development to a few individuals that have been involved in the project during the earliest periods of development. The View Code button that is present on all Whitebox GAT tools is the embodiment of this software-transparency philosophy by pointing the user to the specific region of the source-code that is relevant to a particular tool, also allowing for code conversion to other programming languages. The Whitebox GAT logo is also representative of the open and transparent characteristic of the software, being a transparent glass cube, open on one face.
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
(GIS) and remote sensing software package that is distributed under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
. It has been developed by the members of the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
Centre for Hydrogeomatics and is intended for advanced geospatial analysis and data visualization in research and education settings. The package features a friendly graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
(GUI) with help and documentation built into the dialog boxes for each of the more than 180 analysis tools. Users are also able to access extensive off-line and online help resources. The Whitebox GAT project started as a replacement for the Terrain Analysis System (TAS), a geospatial analysis software package written by John Lindsay.
Whitebox GAT is extendible. Users are able to create and add custom tools or plugins using any .NET language, including VB.NET, C#, and IronPython. The software also allows scripting using the Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
programming language. Scripting relies on the Whitebox Application Programming Interface
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
(API). The current release does not support vector data structures although future development plans include support for Shapefiles.
Analysis Tools
Whitebox GAT contains more than 180 tools for performing spatial analysis on raster data sets. The following is an incomplete list of some of the more commonly used tools:- GIS tools: Cost-distance analysis, buffer, distance operations, weighted overlays, multi-critera evaluation, reclass, area analysis, clumping
- Image processing tools: k-means classification, numerous spatial filters, image mosaicing, NDVI, resampling, contrast enhancement
- Hydrology tools: DEM preprocessing tools, flow direction and accumulation (D8, Rho8, Dinf, and FD8 algorithms), mass flux analysis, watershed extraction
- Terrain analysis tools: surface derivatives (slope, aspect, and curvatures), hillshading, wetness index, relative stream power index, relative landscape position indices
- LiDAR tools: IDW interpolation, nearest neighbour interpolation, point density, removal of off-terrain objects (non-ground points)
Software transparency
The Whitebox GAT project has adopted a novel approach for linking the software's development and user communities, known as software transparency. The philosophy of transparency in software states that the user 1) has the right to view the underlying workings of a tool or operation, and 2) should be able to access this information in a way that reduces, or ideally eliminates, any barriers to viewing and interpreting it. This concept was developed as a response to the fact that the code base of many open-source projects can be so massive and its organization so complex that individual users often find the task of interpreting the underlying code too daunting when they are interested in a small portion of the overall code base, e.g. if the user would like to know how a particular tool or algorithm operates. Furthermore, when the software's source code is written in an unfamiliar programming languageProgramming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
, the task of interpreting the code is made even more difficult. For some open-source projects, these characteristics can create a divide between the development and user communities, often restricting future development to a few individuals that have been involved in the project during the earliest periods of development. The View Code button that is present on all Whitebox GAT tools is the embodiment of this software-transparency philosophy by pointing the user to the specific region of the source-code that is relevant to a particular tool, also allowing for code conversion to other programming languages. The Whitebox GAT logo is also representative of the open and transparent characteristic of the software, being a transparent glass cube, open on one face.