1° of Separation - FDO

What is FDO? And why only one degree?

From http://fdo.osgeo.org/:

FDO Data Access Technology is an API for manipulating, defining and analyzing geospatial information regardless of where it is stored. FDO uses a provider-based model for supporting a variety of geospatial data sources, where each provider typically supports a particular data format or data store. FDO (“Feature Data Object”) is free, open source software licensed under the LGPL.



In a nutshell, FDO allows technologies to access geospatial and non-geospatial data sources in their native format. It is an open source technology that anyone can add to their spatial toolset. right now MapGuide Open Source, Autodesk Map 3D 2008, Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise are tools that leverage FDO.

FDO is XML based and every connection type is called a "Provider" any technology that makes use of FDO can use any of the Providers. New providers appear when someone in the community has a need and solves it with FDO, anyone with the same need can go get that provider from http://fdo.osgo.org/ and be on their way! FDO is fully documented and their are dozens of Open Source Providers and several Paid Providers (like for Smallworld).

Check it out!

Jeremiah