GDAL ( Geospatial data abstraction library )
is a translator library for raster geospatial data formats As a library, it presents a single abstract data model to the calling application for all supported formats. It also comes with a variety of useful commandline utilities for data translation and processing. It is open source and license by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation.
MrSid
(pronounced Mister Sid) is an acronym that stands for multiresolution seamless image database. It is a file format (filename extension *.sid) developed and patented by LizardTech for encoding of georeferenced raster graphics, such as orthophotos.
Features include unprecedented compression ratios while maintaining highest image quality, true multiple resolutions, selective decompression, seamless mosaicking and browsing.
Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international voluntary consensus standards organization. In the OGC, more than 330 commercial, governmental, nonprofit and research organizations worldwide collaborate in an open consensus process encouraging development and implementation of standards for geospatial content and services, GIS data processing and exchange. It was previously known as Open GIS Consortium.
The most important OGC specifications:
- OGC Reference Model – a complete set of reference models.
- WMS – Web Map Service: Provides map images.
- WFS – Web Feature Service: For retrieving or altering feature descriptions.
- WCS – Web Coverage Service: Provide coverage objects from a specified region.
- WPS – Web Processing Service: Remote processing service.
- CSW – Web Catalog Service: Access to catalog information.
- SFS – Simple Features – SQL
- GML – Geography Markup Language: XML format for geographical information.
- KML – Keyhole Markup Language: XML-based language schema for expressing geographic annotation and visualization on existing or future Web-based, two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional Earth browsers.
- WSC – Web Service Common
