Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 7: Multilayer Vector Map in QGIS
In this figure you can clearly see the path of the river Tyne, the local road and rail links, and
even utilities such as power cables. The loaded map set, even though zoomed in, includes
this data for the entire United Kingdom.
I could write an entire topic about QGIS alone, but for now if you want to find out more you
can do so at the official QGIS website at
www.qgis.org
.
MapWindow
MapWindow is designed very much to be used in a similar way to QGIS. Its main purpose is
to do everything a desktop GIS application can do, with a variety of functionality.
It's also the only one written specifically for the Windows platform, designed to encompass
the Windows developer community with its rich developer API and toolsets.
MapWindow is available in two versions: MapWindow 4 and MapWindow 6. MapWindow 4 is
the original, first-generation C++ version, and MapWindow 6 is the latest, state-of-the-art
rewrite, written entirely using C# and the standard .NET runtime.
Currently, both releases are updated and released in tandem, according to the Codeplex
page for the application. This is because MapWindow 6 has yet to reach the same level of
functionality as MapWindow 4. As you can see in the following screenshot, it's very similar to
QGIS:
