Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 29, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Autodesk is demonstrating its commitment to the open-source community. In keeping with its effort to accelerate innovation and support worldwide standards, the software company has introduced new Feature Data Object (FDO) providers: FDO providers for GE Smallworld and Microsoft SQL Server 2008. FDO technology was originally developed by Autodesk and released to the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). It has since become an open-source community project. FDO data-access technology makes it possible to use relational databases, files, and web-based services without having to accept conversion effort or data loss.
The two new FDO providers are available through the Autodesk Subscription program for AutoCAD Map 3D and Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise. The FDO provider for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is also being made available by OSGeo through the FDO open-source project. In addition, the open-source community has developed new FDO providers for IBM Informix, KML, and PostGIS. The new providers give users easier access to data and make it simpler to view, edit, and analyze.
“As a development partner, we are excited by the momentum that open-source technology has generated for improved collaboration within the community and faster innovation,” says Haris Kurtagic, CEO of SL-King. “We are giving the open-source community the ability to work seamlessly with a wide range of spatial and non-spatial databases and native file formats—without having to fear data loss or necessary conversions. This allows us to contribute to the success of the geospatial community.”
“With this initiative, we want to underline our commitment to our customers and to the open-source community,” explains Lisa Campbell, Vice President, Autodesk Geospatial. “Autodesk will continue to work closely with the community. Together, we are pursuing the goal of giving these technologies greater importance and developing and improving them over time. Ultimately, users will benefit from faster innovation. Support for standards enables them to reduce costs through the straightforward integration of different data types and database systems.”
Autodesk and Open Source
Autodesk is a long-term sponsor of OSGeo. Autodesk has previously made available the source code for its CS-Map coordinate-system technology, MapGuide Open Source, and FDO. MapGuide Open Source has been downloaded more than 74,000 times since 2007. FDO has been accessed more than 44,000 times.
Availability
More information about the new GE Smallworld and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 providers is available at http://www.autodesk.com/fdo. Information about the open-source provider for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and PostGIS is available at http://fdo.osgeo.org, and information about the IBM Informix and KML providers is available at http://www.sl-king.com.