This chapter covers:
- OpenJUMP
- QGIS
- gvSIG
- Jupyter (notebook,lab)
In this chapter, we’ll cover some popular open source GIS desktop viewing and loading tools often paired with PostGIS. We’ll also cover Jupyter notebook and lab, which are not GIS desktop tools, but are very popular for adhoc analysis by both GIS and Data science folks. You’ll find that each has its own strengths and weaknesses and caters to a certain niche of users or tasks. We’ll cover these tools, look at differences between them, and walk you through getting them installed and configured so you can try them out. For more in-depth coverage, you should use the respective websites and manuals provided by these tools.
We’ll start off by providing a brief at-a-glance summary of these tools, liberally ladling out our personal opinions. We hope that once you’ve read this chapter, you’ll have a better understanding of which tools are best for what you’re doing and for your particular style of working. We’ll focus mostly on the use of these tools to view and query data, but we’ll also highlight the features each offers for building custom desktop applications, and the availability of plug-ins and scripting to extend built-in features.