tool: JUMP GIS

Features

• a Java based vector GIS and programming framework, platform independent (Windows, Linux, Unix, Macintosh)
• reads and writes ESRI Shapefile, GML files, DXF and PostGIS (with PlugIns)
• full geometry and attribute editing
• OpenGIS SFS compliant
• Geometry algorithms based on Java Topology Suite
• a lot of third party plugins exists (e.g connecting to Postgis, Oracle database or ArcSDE, Raster files like TIFF, JPG, PNG and ECW)
• supports standards like WMS and WFS
• easy extensible GIS programming environment for own GIS-applications
• supports languages (EN, FR, DE, ES, FI, IT, JP, PT)
• free of costs
• OpenSource licence: GPL

File Formats

One important feature of Jump and OpenJUMP is the abililty to work with GIS data in GML format. GML or "Geography Markup Language" is an "xml" (text-based) format for GIS data. It is a way to describe spatial information in a human readable form, and is an accepted "open standard" for GIS data.

OpenJUMP can currently read and write GML data, and the team hopes to develop a number of utilities that will improve OpenJUMP's ability to work with GML.

The ability to work with an open format like GML so important to some implementors because it gives alternatives to proprietary formats like Autodesk DWG files or ESRI Shapefiles.

OpenJUMP nevertheless also reads and writes ESRI Shapefiles and supports ESRI ASCII grid format with an OpenJump plugin from the SIGLE team. While OpenJUMP is considered primarlily a vector based GIS, it also supports rasters, as TIF files or the above ESRI ASCII grid.