GeoExt
GeoExt enables building desktop-like GIS applications on the internet. The framework combines GIS functionality of the web mapping component OpenLayers with the elegant user interface of the javascript library ExtJS provided by the company Sencha. GeoExt is Free Software available under the BSD-license.

ExtJS 4
The new version ExtJS 4 has been available for some time. ExtJS 4 offers many new and attractive functions like for example the possibility to draw diagrams and an API to Sencha Touch to create mobile applications. A so called Model-View-Controller architekture (MVC) was integrated, the API was enhanced, new classes were added and the documentation was completely reworked.

GeoExt Codesprint 2012
GeoExt currently works with ExtJS 3. The API of ExtJS 4 however is quite different to its predecessor. To make the new ExtJS-functions available to GeoExt users GeoExt has to be adapted. That is the reason why in the Spring of 2012 a codesprint will take place with the target of developing GeoExt 2.0 on the basis of ExtJS 4. Participants are scheduled to come from the companies

• Camptocamp
• OpenGeo
• terrestris
• Mapgears

These companies provide core developers of GeoExt 1.x or have experience as service providers buildung applications with ExtJS 4, as for example the recently by terrestris developed GeoExt mobile library „GXM“ shows. For a gathering of 8 developers for 5 days an estimated budget of 40.000 € (52,000 US $) is needed. This will cover the costs of travel, accommodation and part of the costs for the developers. The rest of the costs will be borne by the participating companies.

Sponsor search
We are looking for sponsors for the above mentioned budget. Sponsors are welcome to input their priorities with regard to desired functionality in GeoExt 2.0. The developers will keep these priorities in mind but it can’t be guaranteed that these functions will be finally implemented since there might be dependencies with other parts of the software that might require more work. Directly after the codesprint all results will be provided online for download. It goes without saying that all sponsors will be named.

Call for sponsorship
We would like to invite all organisations and users utilizing GeoExt to sponsor the codesprint. Become a sponsor and benefit from the new functions that will be implemented. If you have questions or interest in sponsoring the codesprint with any amount please do not hesitate to contact us at info@terrestris.de

When someone from Europe travels to Mongolia in December then one topic is predominant: The cold. Yes, it is very cold but to our surprise it was quite easy to endure -20°C and even -35°C, the minimum we experienced, with regular hats, jackets, mittens and long underwear. It is important not to stand around but to keep moving.

The first day in Ulan Bator was spent shopping because we needed a local mobile phone card, some batteries as well as a plastic box for our data transmitting technology we were set to test in the Sognegor Valley. Shopping always takes quite some time which may also be due to the language barrier.

On the second day our driver Natsga took us in his all terrain vehicle to Darkhan, the second largest Mongolian city located approximately 250 km to the north of Ulan Bator. The computer room designated for the workshop was prepared by the terrestris-team by installing the necessary software programs QGIS and JOSM. The workshop was opened by the MoMo project-coordinator, the german ambassador to Mongolia and the director of the Technical University of Darkhan. See also our first report on the trip to Mongolia.

On the first day of the workshop there was a general introduction to geodata and geographical information systems (GIS) while the second day was designated to practical excercises using the free desktop GIS Quantum GIS. During the following three days practical mapping excercises took place the results of which were uploaded to the OpenStreetMap (OSM) platform.

OSM map of Darkhan before our workshop

OSM map of Darkhan after our workshop

Roundabout in Darkhan before our workshop

Roundabout in Darkhan after our workshop

OSM is a free wiki world map that is being compiled by volunteers all over the world using GPS devices amongst other technologies. The workshop is deemed a success. Up to the workshop all participants were unfamiliar with the OpenStreetMap project and during the 5 days a fundamental understanding for geodata management could be generated as well as filling the map of Darkhan with information. The corresponding before/after images speak for themselves. In addition a number of lecturers from the Agricultural and the Technical University of Darkhan participated in the workshop who intend to offer courses of their own with some of the content presented in our workshop. For this kind of endeavour the OpenStreetMap platform is perfectly suited since it is available to interested people at all times.

The last two days of the trip to Mongolia the terrestris-team spent in the Sognegor Valley where a number of MoMo sub projects are working. Besides exploring the valley we tested some modern data transmission technology. In this case it was special wireless LAN (WLAN) hardware operating at 5 GHz that allows high data throughput while using comparatively little energy. The test entailed the transmission of webcam photos from a mountain to a yurt over a distance of approximately 2 km. At -30°C the batteries lasted just under 4 hours and a total of 14 MB was transmitted. This test is also deemed a success and the team was especially impressed with the robustness and ease of use of the technology that has a phenomenal value for money ratio. At this point we would like to thank Prof. Dr. Christof Huebner from the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences as well as Mr. Bernd Strehhuber from the company plan b. solutions GmbH, who provided us with the technology.

Usual traffic chaos in Ulan Bator.

The highway to Darkhan.

Grazing camels to the north of Darkhan.

These camels are not timid.

A snow covered salt lake to the north of Darkhan.

Goat herd with herdsman - a typical picture in Mongolia.

An especially impressive Ovo close to Sukhbataar near the Russian border. It is a shamanistic sanctuary.

A MoMo sub project has developed a new type of toilet that allows the collection of faeces which are then used to generate energy. This also protects the soil and groundwater.

Panorama view of Darkhan.

View of a district of Darkhan.

A water kiosk - since none of the houses or yurts has running water all supplies have to be brought in by jerrycans.

Lots of traffic at a water kiosk.

Jerrycans being filled at a water kiosk.

Workshop participants working at their computers.

Workshop participants mapping.

Mapping of latrines.

Group photo of course participants.

Our accomodation near the Sognegor Valley. Note the antenna that we could easily mount.

Mongolian newly weds enjoyed a joint photo.

Working in the yurt.

The entrance to the yurt from the inside. To the right of the door is the wash basin. The receptacle above the basin can be filled with water. The waste water flows into a bucket underneath the basin.

The yurt is elaborately decorated on the inside.

Rivers are frozen in such a way that you can easily drive an all terrain vehicle across the ice.

View of the valley and meanders of the Kharaa river.

Good packaging helps you endure the temperatures.

View from the mountain to our yurt camp.

The antenna of the data transmission unit has been fastened to a stick in an Ovo. The webcam is located in the box.

The antenna was aligned with the antenna on the yurt.

View in the Sognegor Valley.

A village in the Sognegor Valley.

A frozen river at the end of the valley from where one can only continue on foot.

In this capacity a team from terrestris travelled to Mongolia where it is conducting a geodata management workshop at the Technical University in Darkhan (MUST). On the occasion of the opening of the workshop by the scientific coordinator of the MoMo project, Dr. Daniel Karthe, the German Ambassador to Mongolia, Dr. h.c. Peter Schaller greeted the participants. In his address he emphasized amongst other aspects the importance of knowledge and skills for a national economy and was pleased about the german-mongolian cooperation. The director of the Technical University, Prof. Dr. Dorligsuren Lkhanag, also addressed the participants and mentioned that such a geodata management workshop was a first at MUST.

In the allotted 5 days fundamental concepts of geographical data handling and manipulation will be dealt with on a theoretical basis. There is also the chance to put this newly gained knowledge into practice by working with the free and open source desktop GIS Quantum GIS. The practical side of the workshop is being augmented by mapping excersises with GPS devices on 2 of the 5 days.

f.l.t.r Dr. h.c. Peter Schaller, Prof. Dr. Lkhanag Dorligsuren, Hinrich Paulsen, Dr. Daniel Karthe

The results will be published on the OpenStreetMap platform and will thus be available to the public. Approximately 80% of the course participants are lecturers at the Agricultural- and Technical Universities so there is justified hope for a multiplier effect.

This year our retreat took place under special circumstances. We chartered a 13 meter catamaran on the island of Mallorca, Spain and sailed it to the island of Cabrera and back. For almost everybody from terrestris it was a new experience to spend a few days on a sailboat. Result: Nobody fell overboard, nobody was sea sick and we all came home with new and pleasant impressions. We would like to share some pictures with you and thank our on-board photographer Dennis Hellmich for these!

Little wind and lots of sun

Cala Portals on Mallorca

Sunrise in Cala Portals

terrestris on board

Close to the wind

Careful flying on-board photographers!

Land in sight yet?

Parts of terrestris exploring

Dolphins at Cabrera Island

Isla Cabrera in the wake

terrestris convention in action

Group photo at the castle ruin of Cabrera

"Frida" waiting patiently at her bouy

The net in between the hulls doubles as a great hammock

You can also let the ship drag you

Isla Cabrera after sundown

View of the bay of Cabrera

Yep, land is still there

View from Marcs bunk

All are busy

Marina S'Arenal at night

Setting sail

Geoportal Raumordnung BW

The land use planning geoportal Baden-Wuerttemberg, which terrestris helped to implement, is now online.

Business Geomatics writes:
“The undersecretary of state Gisela Splett from the Ministry of Traffic and Infrastructure formally launched the Land Use Planning Geoportal Baden-Wuerttemberg. Users are able to access textual and cartographic content in a comprehensive fashion regarding land use planning. Questions like: What does the land-use plan say regarding my residential district? Is my house located in a formally designated rehabilitation zone so that maybe I am eligible for a modernising grant? can be answered without having to actually visit the authorities. Municipalities that do not have their own geographical information system can provide the service to their citizens to take a look at the current land use plan. The portal is not only for adminstrations but also for industry and the interested public. With regard to content the portal is still in its initiation phase which means that current plans are not available for all parts of the state. The plans of some municipalities or older regional plans have only in part been brought up to date.”

Link to the portal

There were strong advances in the migration of GeoExt to ExtJS 4: During the course of our code sprint we have currently managed to adapt 12 classes of GeoExt 1.0 to ExtJS 4. Amongst them are the LegendPanel including WmsLegend and UrlLegend, as well as the GeoExt-Action-Class so that OpenLayers-Controls can be used in the UIs.

The Sensor Observation Service that used to run with some test data was switched over to some real stuff. A parser now supplies the SOS with up-to-date data from a Geo-RSS-Feed. Due to the new interface that generates a WMS for the respective SOS the data can easily be published on an interactive map.

The OL-Builder used to generate Custom-OpenLayers-Builds got a new face: A comfortable ExtJS 4 GUI now enables the selection of the necessary classes including the automatic detection of dependant classes.

At the WMS front several approaches for the generation, rendering and performance enhancement were tested and evaluated. Amongst others an interface to Mapnik was created so that QGIS projects can be tagged as ‘to be rendered’ and as ‘TMS’.

All in all the terrestris codesprint is being viewed favourably. Many things were approached and although there were only a few days an impressive amount was accomplished. Once we are back home we plan to improve on some of the things started and hope to present the odd goodie to the public as for example an OWS-test-site.