Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 11, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The current FDO provider was developed by Autodesk and released for the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). FDO data-access technology allows relational databases, files and web-based services to be used in their native formats without conversion effort or data loss. Previously, this was possible only with Oracle Spatial databases. Microsoft is thus expanding the capabilities of its SQL Server to process geospatial data effectively. With the release for Microsoft SQL, Autodesk is strengthening its pioneering role in making a powerful, flexible, low-cost software platform for geospatial information freely accessible.
At FOSSGIS 2008, Autodesk will demonstrate all FDO providers live for the first time. FOSSGIS, held from April 1–3 in Freiburg, is a conference on free and open-source software for geographic information systems. Autodesk is the main sponsor and topic partner of this leading event.
“With the new Autodesk FDO technology for Microsoft SQL Server 2008, geospatial data can be queried and managed directly,” emphasises Peter Rummel, Geospatial Marketing Manager at Autodesk. “The advantage is that relevant data no longer has to be laboriously transferred and prepared between different systems. Users can thus get even more out of their geospatial data.”
Free access worldwide
Autodesk released FDO technology as an open-source project under the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) back in 2006 to simplify expansion of the FDO data-access technology. Only recently, FDO technology received the new status of a “fully recognised project” from OSGeo. Developers around the world can thus further develop the powerful geospatial data-access technologies without having to wait for the next release. Application and software developers do not have to deal with database functionality, but can concentrate on business-relevant functions when developing their applications. The latest FDO provider for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 fits seamlessly alongside the 17 existing FDO providers.
Further links:
- More information at
