Title: The open-source movement: an introduction for forestry professionals

Author: Proctor, Patrick; Van Deusen, Paul C.; Heath, Linda S.; Gove, Jeffrey H.

Year: 2005

Publication: 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.

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.