Book Image

Mastering QGIS - Second Edition

By : Kurt Menke, GISP, Paolo Corti, Richard Smith Jr., GISP, Luigi Pirelli, John Van Hoesen, GISP
Book Image

Mastering QGIS - Second Edition

By: Kurt Menke, GISP, Paolo Corti, Richard Smith Jr., GISP, Luigi Pirelli, John Van Hoesen, GISP

Overview of this book

QGIS is an open source solution to GIS. It is widely used by GIS professionals all over the world. It is the leading alternative to the proprietary GIS software. Although QGIS is described as intuitive, it is also by default complex. Knowing which tools to use and how to apply them is essential to producing valuable deliverables on time. Starting with a refresher on the QGIS basics, this book will take you all the way through to creating your first custom QGIS plugin. From the refresher, we will recap how to create, populate, and manage a spatial database. You’ll also walk through styling GIS data, from creating custom symbols and color ramps to using blending modes. In the next section, you will discover how to prepare vector, heat maps, and create live layer effects, labeling, and raster data for processing. You’ll also discover advanced data creation and editing techniques. The last third of the book covers the more technical aspects of QGIS such as using LAStools and GRASS GIS’s integration with the Processing Toolbox, how to automate workflows with batch processing, and how to create graphical models. Finally, you will see how to create and run Python data processing scripts and write your own QGIS plugin with pyqgis. By the end of the book, you will understand how to work with all the aspects of QGIS, and will be ready to use it for any type of GIS work.

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Mastering QGIS - Second Edition
Kurt Menke, GISP | Paolo Corti | Richard Smith Jr., GISP | Luigi Pirelli | John Van Hoesen, GISP
Sep, 2016 | 486 pages
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Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Mastering QGIS - Second Edition
Mastering QGIS - Second Edition
Credits
Credits
Foreword
Foreword
About the Authors
About the Authors
About the Reviewer
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
A Refreshing Look at QGIS
A Refreshing Look at QGIS
Release schedules
QGIS download and installation
Tour of QGIS
Loading data into QGIS Desktop
Working with CRS
Working with tables
Editing data
Composing maps
Adding functionality with plugins
Summary
2
Creating Spatial Databases
Creating Spatial Databases
Fundamental database concepts
Creating a spatial database
Importing data into a SpatiaLite database
Exporting tables out of SpatiaLite
Managing tables
Creating queries and views
Summary
3
Styling Raster and Vector Data
Styling Raster and Vector Data
Choosing and managing colors
Managing color ramps
Styling singleband rasters
Styling multiband rasters
Creating a raster composite
Raster color rendering
Raster resampling
Styling vectors
Vector layer rendering
Using diagrams to display thematic data
Saving, loading, and setting default styles
Summary
4
Preparing Vector Data for Processing
Preparing Vector Data for Processing
Merging shapefiles
Creating spatial indices
Checking for geometry errors
Converting vector geometries
Using basic vector geoprocessing tools
Defining coordinate reference systems
Viewing a statistical summary of vector layers
Advanced field calculations
Conditional formatting for attribute table cells
Complex spatial and aspatial queries
Summary
5
Preparing Raster Data for Processing
Preparing Raster Data for Processing
Reclassifying rasters for analysis
Rescaling raster values
Aligning raster pixels
Creating a raster mosaic
Generating raster overviews (pyramids)
Converting between raster and vector data models
Creating raster surfaces via interpolation
Summary
6
Advanced Data Creation and Editing
Advanced Data Creation and Editing
Creating points from coordinate data
Geocoding address-based data
Georeferencing imagery
Checking the topology of vector data
Repairing topological errors via topological editing
Summary
7
Advanced Data Visualization
Advanced Data Visualization
Learn to use live layer effects
Creating beautiful effects with inverted polygon shapeburst fills
Creating 3D views with QGIS2ThreeJS
Creating an Atlas
Summary
8
The Processing Toolbox
The Processing Toolbox
About the Processing Toolbox
Performing raster analyses with GRASS
SAGA
Exploring hydrologic analyses with TauDEM
R
LAStools and Fusion
Summary
9
Automating Workflows with the Graphical Modeler
Automating Workflows with the Graphical Modeler
An introduction to the graphical modeler
Opening the graphical modeler
Configuring the modeler and naming a model
Adding data inputs to your model
Adding algorithms to your model
Running a model
Editing a model
Documenting a model
Saving, loading, and exporting models
Executing model algorithms iteratively
Nesting models
Using batch processing with models
Converting a model into a Python script
Summary
10
Creating QGIS Plugins with PyQGIS and Problem Solving
Creating QGIS Plugins with PyQGIS and Problem Solving
Webography – where to get API information and PyQGIS help
The Python Console
My second PyQGIS code snippet – looping the layer features
Exploring iface and QGis
Exploring a QGIS API in the Python Console
Creating a plugin structure with Plugin Builder
A simple plugin example
Setting up a debugging environment
Debugging session example
Summary
11
PyQGIS Scripting
PyQGIS Scripting
Where to learn Python basics
How to load layers
Vector structure
Iterating over features
Editing features
Running Processing Toolbox algorithms
Running an external algorithm or command
Interacting with the map canvas
Summary
Index
Index

About the Authors

A former archaeologist, Kurt Menke, GISP is based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. He received a master's degree in geography from the University of New Mexico in 2000. That same year, he founded Bird's Eye View (http://www.BirdsEyeViewGIS.com) to apply his expertise with GIS technology towards ecological conservation. Along with conservation, his other focus areas are public health and education.

He is an avid open source GIS proponent since he began writing MapServer applications in 2002. He has used QGIS since 2007. Recently he also authored Discover QGIS for Locate Press. In 2015, Kurt was honored to be voted in as an OsGeo Charter Member. He is an experienced FOSS4G educator and a co-author of the GeoAcademy. In 2015 he was awarded the Global Educator of the Year Team Award by GeoForAll as part of the GeoAcademy team. Kurt authors an award winning blog on FOSS4G technologies and their use in community health mapping (http://communityhealthmaps.nlm.nih.gov/).

Special thanks go to the QGIS development team and the QGIS community for their continued dedication and work that makes QGIS what it is. I would like to thank all my co-authors for being such a joy to work with. I'd also like to acknowledge Karl Benedict for originally introducing me to the world of FOSS4G and Jeffery Cavner for his ongoing camaraderie. Finally I'd like to thank my beautiful wife, Sarah, for her steady support and encouragement.

Dr. Richard Smith Jr., GISP is an assistant professor of geographic information science in the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. He has a PhD in geography from the University of Georgia and holds a master of science in computer science and a bachelor of science in geographic information science from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. Richard actively researches in cartography, systems integration, and the use of geospatial technology for disaster response. He is an advocate for FOSS4G and building FOSS4G curriculum. He is also one of the co-authors of the FOSS4G Academy (http://foss4geo.org).

He has collaborated with other writers in his field, but Mastering QGIS is his first book effort.

I would like to thank my wife and daughter for putting up with my late-night and weekend writing sessions. I would also like to thank my co-author Kurt Menke for being patient with my edits.

Outside those directly involved or affected by the writing of the book, I'd like to thank my academic and life mentors Dr. Stacey Lyle, Dr. Thomas Hodler, Dr. Gary Jeffress, and Dr. Robin Murphy for providing support and well-wishes as I work through the beginnings of my career. In addition to teaching me more than you know, you have inspired me to have the confidence to teach and write. To those of you reading this, I hope I do my mentors justice by providing a clear and useful text to assist you in Mastering QGIS.

Dr. Luigi Pirelli is a freelance software analyst and developer with a degree with honors in computer science at Bari University.

He worked for 15 years in the Satellite Ground Segment and Direct Ingestion for the European Space Agency. Since 2006, he has been involved in the GFOSS world, contributing in QGIS, GRASS, and Mapserver core, and developing and maintaining many QGIS plugins. He actively participates in QGIS Hackmeetings.

Luigi is the founder of the OSGEO Italian local GFOSS chapter. Now, he lives in Spain contributing to this GFOSS community. During the last few years, he started teaching PyQGIS, organizing training from basic to advanced level, and supporting companies to develop their specific QGIS plugins.

He is also the founder the local hackerspace group Bricolabs.cc, focused on open hardware. He likes cycling, repairing everything, and training groups on conflict resolution. Other than this book, he has also contributed to the Lonely Planet guide Cycling Italy.

A special thanks to the QGIS developer community and core developers because the project is managed in a really open way, allowing contribution from everyone.

I want to thank everyone I worked with. From every one of them I learned, and without them, I wouldn't be here making my contributions to free software and this book.

Special thanks to my friends and neighbors who helped me with my son during writing this pages.

I would like to dedicate this book to my partner and especially to my son for the patience he had seeing me hours sitting in front of a computer without playing with him.

Dr. John Van Hoesen, GISP is an associate professor of geology and environmental studies at Green Mountain College in rural west-central Vermont, USA. He earned an MS and a PhD in geology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 2000 and 2003. He is a certified GIS Professional (GISP) with a broad background in the geosciences and has used some flavor of GIS to evaluate and explore geological processes and environmental issues since 1997. John has used and taught some variants of FOSS GIS since 2003 and over the last three years has taught graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education courses using only FOSS GIS software.

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