Python Geospatial Development

This is a tutorial style book for Python developers who want to get up to speed with Open Source GIS in order to build GIS applications or integrate Geo-Spatial features into their applications. You need basic knowledge of Python, but no knowledge of Open Source GIS is required. The book will familiarize you with the tools needed for geo-spatial development in Python. It introduces GIS at the basic level with a clear, detailed walkthrough of key GIS concepts such as location, distance, units, projections, datums, and GIS data formats. Then it examines a number of Python libraries and combines these with geo-spatial data to accomplish a variety of tasks. It takes an in-depth look at storing spatial data in a database and using spatial databases as tools to solve geo-spatial problems. It goes into the details of generating maps using the Mapnik map-rendering toolkit, and helps you to build a sophisticated web-based geo-spatial map-editing application using GeoDjango, Mapnik, and PostGIS.