Debian GIS Osgeo: infrastructure and miscellanea packages

OpenLayers is a pure JavaScript library for displaying map data in most modern web browsers, with no server-side dependencies.

OpenLayers implements a JavaScript API for building rich web-based geographic applications, similar to the Google Maps and MSN Virtual Earth APIs.

Mapnik is an OpenSource C++/Python toolkit for developing GIS (Geographic Information Systems) applications. At the core is a C++ shared library providing algorithms/patterns for spatial data access and visualization.

Essentially a collection of geographic objects (map, layer, datasource, feature, geometry), the library doesn't rely on "windowing systems" and is intended to work in multi-threaded environments

High-level Python bindings (boost.python) facilitate rapid application development, targeting zope3, django, etc.

This package contains miscellaneous utilities distributed with mapnik:

shapeindex: program to creates file system based index for ESRI shape-files

R is a system for statistical computation and graphics. It consists of a language plus a run-time environment with graphics, a debugger, access to certain system functions, and the ability to run programs stored in script files.

The design of R has been heavily influenced by two existing languages: Becker, Chambers & Wilks' S and Sussman's Scheme. Whereas the resulting language is very similar in appearance to S, the underlying implementation and semantics are derived from Scheme.

The core of R is an interpreted computer language which allows branching and looping as well as modular programming using functions. Most of the user-visible functions in R are written in R. It is possible for the user to interface to procedures written in the C, C++, or FORTRAN languages for efficiency, and many of R's core functions do so. The R distribution contains functionality for a large number of statistical procedures and underlying applied math computations. There is also a large set of functions which provide a flexible graphical environment for creating various kinds of data presentations.

Additionally, several thousand extension "packages" are available from CRAN, the Comprehensive R Archive Network, many also as Debian packages, named 'r-cran-'.

This package is a metapackage which eases the transition from the pre-1.5.0 package setup with its larger r-base package. Once installed, it can be safely removed and apt-get will automatically upgrade its components during future upgrades. Providing this package gives a way to users to then only install r-base-core if they so desire.

Tilemill is a map design studio for creating custom interactive maps. Data can be imported, layered and styled, and legends added to the map. The map can be exported to several formats and easily embedded into a website.

Compatible datasources include ESRI Shapefile, KML, GeoJSON, GeoTIFF, PostGIS, CSV, and SQLite. For styling the maps, TileMill uses a language called CartoCSS. Colors, sizes, and shapes can all be manipulated by applying their relative CartoCS parameters. It is possible to export pannable, zoomable maps, and static maps in PNG, PDF, and SVG format. For advanced users, it is possible to export in Mapnik XML format, and exports can be scripted from the command line.