Surveying, Mapping and GIS

New iPhones are out...

2008-07-11T16:55:00.006-04:00

Was just a little over a year ago that I shrugged at the release of the iPhone... Finally, they are coming through with some of the things I suggested quite a while back, primarily

True GPS

3G data connection vs. EDGE

Almost as good as my AT&T Tilt now, but still doesn't run all of the mobile GIS apps I have.

A Compendium of State Land Surveying Practice Acts

2008-07-06T18:37:00.007-04:00

To follow on to my previous post, "Epic Battles: GIS versus Land Surveying?" I have compiled this list of Land Surveying Practice Acts. These are state laws, which govern the practice of land surveying within each jurisdiction, and which define what each jurisdiction views as work to be performed by licensed land surveyors.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Epic Battles: GIS vs. Surveying?

2008-07-05T11:15:00.011-04:00

Discussion revolving around a planned, but retracted article on GIS for Professional Surveyor Magazine has led to a lot of interesting discussion, but to me generally reveals a continuing underlying tension and misperceptions between the GIS and Surveying communities.

Adena Schutzberg / All Points Bulletin: Update: State Licensing Board "Censors" GIS Article
James Fee / Spatially Adjusted: "GIS Practitioners as Doing Work Surveyors Should Be Doing"

While these articles post updates and amendments, based on comments by Tom Gibson, Professional Surveyor's editor, which clarifies that the author decided to retract his article, the underlying question of GIS versus surveying and legal jurisdictions still remains.

Some of the comments are telling - with perceptions and suggestions that State Licensing Boards are somehow cracking down in draconian fashion, demanding censorship and attacking GIS practitioners. Tied into this, we had the MAPPS lawsuit (another issue which I believe will resurface at some point), overlap of surveying with photogrammetry, and other issues. Meanwhile, in the surveying community, we still hear "GIS = Get It Surveyed".

I have my own, perhaps unique perspectives and insights, being a GIS practitioner since the late 1980s, as well as a licensed Land Surveyor, and finally, also serving as chair to a State Licensing Board.

Note: Having said this, please note that my comments to follow are my own personal views, and are not to be taken as official statements or in any way representative of our State Licensing Board's views.

For most GIS practitioners, they readily defer to surveyors' knowledge and domain expertise on cadastral issues - matters of how property boundaries are properly dealt with, and so on - and similarly, most surveyors know their limitations when it comes to GIS. However, there still seems to be occasions which give rise to confusion and misperception.

One basic thing that we all need to come into reckoning with is that Surveying and GIS overlap, but that neither is wholly contained within the other, and that each has areas which may additionally be mutually exclusive from the other. Another part of this Venn diagram equation is Photogrammetry - another topic, which has come up often. I have best seen it illustrated as such:

One area of contention is that some states' Practice Acts are very broad in their definition of what constitutes land surveying - e.g. "measurement and determination of any feature on the earth's surface" - which might not be appropriate for the strictest of interpretations. Many everyday GIS efforts could constitute surveying practice under this definition - but is it appropriate?

If one considers typical State laws pertaining to licensure and practice of land surveying, one will see that the primary objective is in protecting the public, it has little to do with protecting the surveying profession.

So what is falls within the purview of licensing boards, and what falls within the definition of land surveying, toward preventing harm? That may vary somewhat from state to state.

But how might the public be harmed by GIS data, as opposed to proper land surveys? Here are some generalized versions of recent tales I've heard:

A county tax mapping office, where a GIS practitioner "helps" a realtor friend in a bind by preparing a property description based on lot lines in the GIS. Where did those lot lines come from? Combination of digitized paper maps, lines rubbersheeted to apparent fencelines on orthophotos, and so on. The harm? This description brings with it apparent legal connotation, as a representation of lines of ownership. The buyer may be getting a misrepresentation of what the lot's actual extent and location is.

A municipality orders a homeowner to demolish and remove a brand new addition, based on their perception that it is in violation of setback lines - based on the GIS.

These things can be only be remedied through a proper survey. One definite question that should be asked, is whether litigation or legal action might ever be a possibility. If it's anything relating to or impacting property ownership and use, such as property boundaries, rights-of-way, easements, or things of that nature, one would definitely want reliable, accurate survey data that can hold up in a court of law. Most county GIS systems will not pass this test.

Perhaps there a jurisdictional issue at stake, such as wetlands delineation (where US EPA, Army Corps of Engineers, State Environmental Protection Agencies or others may or may not have jurisdiction, based on whether or not the land in question is a wetlands or not). Given an instance where a wetland may have been filled, drained, or otherwise encroached upon, and where the original physical evidence of plants, hydric soils, and wetlands flags may no longer exist, a surveyor's location of and ties to the wetland biologists' flags is far more likely to hold up to scrutiny, be accurately retraceable in the field, and be defensible in court than GIS data from recreational-grade GPS receivers or other approaches that are occasionally seen in use.

Or a toxic waste spill - whether it impacted adjoining properties or not - and so on. The same circumstance may come into play with other jurisdictional issues, such as taxation and municipal jurisdiction, and other areas.

Is it a specific legal requirement that these types of data be collected by surveyors in these cases? To turn that question around, in these cases it's instead a matter of basic good practice and adequate protection from dispute and liability as to how the locational data is captured.

Not every GIS practitioner has to deal with these things - but some do very much need to be cognizant of it. And certainly GIS practitioners do need to be aware of state Land Surveying Practice Acts in any regard. Ambiguities will not be resolved overnight - certainly questions of "what DOES that cadastral GIS system really represent" will continue to come up again and again. And certainly many stewards of cadastral GIS are aware of this, and put as many protections in place as they are able to - such as disclaimers and metadata, but for most citizens and casual users of the data, the phrase "consult the metadata" will only lead to glazed eyes. And while GIS systems are fully able to accomodate survey-grade data, and while some nations have made great strides toward a coordinated cadastre, here in the United States, the approach has been far more piecemeal, with varying degrees of robustness in how cadastral data can be improved. I have suggested record-level metadata for parcel data and similar approaches to allow refinement, where good, vetted, survey-grade locational data can be utilized and held toward iterative acquisition of a uniformly high-quality database. The locational accuracy of each parcel and subdivision can then be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, database linkages to plats and other survey data can be put in place.

Certainly not easy questions to answer overnight - but also hopefully I can share more insight and reality than perceptions that "Surveyors are trying to take over GIS".

Update: To follow up, I've put together and posted a "Compendium of State Land Surveying Practice Acts" with links to a number of jurisdictions' laws relating to the practice of land surveying.

GeoServer

2008-06-21T11:16:00.005-04:00

The last few months have been hectic, with a lot of proposal writing and other things flying around - and as I continue to redefine and revisit and look toward new types of approaches and ways to tackle problems in architecting geospatial solutions, I have been making an effort to poke around and look at alternatives. Some of the major drivers for alternatives are licensing costs - Oracle is certainly not cheap - and the others are technical, finding fast and easy ways to publish and interact with geospatial data, provide interoperability and consume it in a wider variety of clients, e.g. OGC Web Map Service, KML, GeoRSS and the like...

So of late, I have been digging deeper with a stack consisting of PostGIS, GeoServer and GeoWebCache - and I must say I am impressed with what I'm seeing so far:

Here, hundreds of thousands of facilities points, being served up by PostGIS and GeoServer, and published as a tile layer in GeoWebCache. Firstly, the production ArcIMS/Oracle boxes I've been using would be struggling to render this much data quickly. Secondly, it would take a custom tile server or other middleware to get them into Virtual Earth - yet here I was able to get these results, start to finish, in less than an hour.

Same data in Google Earth as KML, again GeoServer provides some very interesting and compelling out-of-the-box functionality...

Again, the question I have been asking myself is in what the solution needs to look like - and here, we can have some hybridized approaches, depending on how static or dynamic the data is, and how much analysis we want to do, perhaps with products like GeoWebCache and GeoServer serving base data and tiles, and ArcGIS Server 9.3 providing modeling and analytical capabilities. This coming year will be interesting, to say the least...

EPA GIS Workgroup

2008-05-12T09:37:00.002-04:00

While everyone else is off to Where, et cetera - I'm going off to the EPA GIS Workgroup meeting in New York City...

Always great to see what's going on in terms of GIS and remote sensing for visualization, modeling and analysis in the realm of environmental protection - usually most EPA regions and program offices are represented, along with other organizations and agencies... Lots of geo friends in attendance.

Looking forward to it.

US Streets

2008-05-11T18:53:00.005-04:00

This is an interesting view of the United States:

- found on Ben Fry's website, http://benfry.com/allstreets/index.html

The author compiled all local roads, and visual patterns of density and human use rapidly emerge. Here, a mix of physical barriers (such as valleys within the Appalachians) can be seen along with major corridors of development. There are still some blocks within some states which are not fully populated (shown as generally-rectangular, lighter-density areas in some of the midwest states), Fry ascribes this to differences in how roads are characterized and classified.

Why I Haven't Moved To The Beltway...

2008-05-06T23:00:00.003-04:00

Given most of my work is in the DC Beltway, and I have a 4 hour + "commute" one way - some of my friends and colleagues keep asking why I don't move south.

Simple answer... quality of life. I wouldn't be able to afford the great house that I have, I wouldn't have the great natural setting nearby...

I walk just a few houses down to the end of my block, and from there, I'm in a park - I can take a lengthy hike in any number of directions, a different hike for every day of the week... and the scenery?

More "photos of the day" to come...

Thematic Mapping

2008-05-05T21:52:00.006-04:00

After just spending a chunk of time tonight reading article after article on his site, I have to give my kudos to Bjørn Sandvik, and his blog, Thematic Mapping -

There's just a ton of eminently cool and accessible stuff for visualization there...

The Marcellus Shale Formation and Pennsylvania's Natural Gas Boom

2008-05-05T10:19:00.011-04:00

The latest buzz here in Northeastern Pennsylvania here in the last few months revolves around revised estimates of natural gas potential residing in the Marcellus Formation, which is a deep layer of black shale running throughout southern New York State, across Pennsylvania and into Ohio and West Virginia.

Per Wikipedia, the Marcellus Formation is believed to contain as much as 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 10% of which may be recoverable using current technologies.

Notably here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Marcellus Formation is exceptionally thick, with some areas up to 350 feet thick - the map illustrates the extent of the Marcellus formation in grey, with isopach lines denoting layer thickness.

In terms of stratigraphy, the Marcellus Formation is part of the Hamilton Group, lying deep, however far deeper gas deposits are currently being developed elsewhere in the world.

While the economic boom is welcome - with one potential outcome being preservation of farmlands and forestlands in Northeastern Pennsylvania - in an area which has been struggling for some time, and while this deposit becomes a welcome find in an imminent energy crisis, the longer-term pros and cons are yet to be known - specifically, what are the potential environmental impacts, to aquifers, of hydrofracturing, impacts of surface activities - what needs to be done in terms of pipeline infrastructure, and so on...

Appalachian Electoral Dynamic?

2008-05-04T18:05:00.006-04:00

I just came across an interesting blog, which presents a different spin on election dynamics, in the aftermath of the primary we just had here in Pennsylvania -

Here, counties in blue represent larger wins for Hillary Clinton, whereas the green counties represent larger wins for Barack Obama... "Appalachia" is outlined in black.
During the 1992 presidential campaign, Democratic political consultant James Carville described Pennsylvania as "Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with Alabama in between." - Now here's yet another similar analogy... I'm just presenting it as a Pennsylvania voter, reserving my own mix of comments, whether bemused or amused - I'll leave folks to draw their own conclusions...

"The Electoral Map" - http://theelectoralmap.com/

[edit - interestingly, the delineation of "Appalachians" on the map appears to concur more with congressional boundaries which generally touch on the Appalachian range]

The Onion: County Surveyors

2008-05-02T18:05:00.003-04:00

Between spending a lot of time on the road and wearing my fingers to nubs writing proposals, I unfortunately haven't had much time to blog - but I did just come across this humorous bit:

I Won't Ever Let The Position Of County Surveyor Go To My Head

Aye, indeed... we surveyors are full of humility... Even though those who behold us are heard to utter such things as,

"There goes a man whose ability to record and maintain elevation benchmarks once a year rivals that of Atlas himself. That, son, is a man far better than I."

And, if you find yourself drained from your own bitter political battle for your own County Surveyor, think:

"Well, thank God we elected a county surveyor who is free from ego, modest to a fault, and is just generally the Joe DiMaggio of land-parcel mapping and plat checking."

Happy Earth Day...

2008-04-22T19:57:00.003-04:00

Raytheon Wins GPS Contract

2008-04-17T07:32:00.000-04:00

Via Washington Technology:

Raytheon locks onto Air Force GPS deal
Raytheon will help complete development of a new generation of Global
Positioning System receivers for the Air Force.

http://www.1105newsletters.com/t.do?id=1087772:163874

(posted via mobile)

Virtual Earth API Version 6.1

2008-04-12T21:02:00.005-04:00

For developers using Virtual Earth, the Virtual Earth API version 6.1 was released a few days ago:

Official SDK Documentation: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb429619.aspx

Other discussion:

Steve Lombardi's Blog (Microsoft) on 6.1 Enhancements: http://virtualearth.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!2BBC66E99FDCDB98!14129.entry
Chris Pendleton's Blog (Microsoft) on 6.1 Enhancements: http://blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/archive/2008/04/11/new-virtual-earth-api-release-virtual-earth-6-1.aspx
Johannes Kebeck's Blog on 6.1 Enhancements: http://johanneskebeck.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!42E1F70205EC8A96!3858.entry

Overview of changes: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb412561.aspx

Virtual Earth Map Control SDK, version 6.1

What's New in the Map Control?

Welcome to version 6.1 of the Virtual Earth map control. This page explains the new features for version 6.0 and 6.1 on a high level. To see a detailed list of the objects, methods, and properties that have changed, see the Version Changelist.

Version 6.0 and 6.1 of the map control includes improvements in the following areas:

Enhanced accuracy
Additional functionality
Enhanced performance

Enhanced Accuracy

The Virtual Earth team is committed to constantly improving the accuracy of the map control. This release of the map control includes improvements in the following areas.

Enhanced Geocoding. The map control integrates multiple geocoders and datasets to provide the most relevant and accurate results. You can perform these searches using the VEMap.Find Method.

Rooftop Geocoding. Rooftop locations are the most precise geocoding results available in the United States today. Rooftop geocoding is now available through the map control VEMap.Find Method.

Consistent Pushpin Accuracy. When switching between aerial and birdseye views, pushpin accuracy is maintained, delivering a more seamless experience. Use the VEMap.SetShapesAccuracy Method to get the accuracy you desire.

Additional Functionality

This release of the map control includes additional functionality in the following areas.

Printing support. Use the VEMap.SetPrintOptions Method to enable printing support.

Reverse Geocoding. Reverse geocoding allows the user to find places based on a specific point on the map. Use the VEMap.FindLocations Method to accomplish this.

Traffic-based Routes. A new option allows the use of available traffic information in route calculations, enabling quicker routes and more accurate route times during heavy traffic periods. Use the VERouteOptions.UseTraffic Property to turn on this feature.

Birdseye Map Style with Labels. A road label overlay increases the usability of the Birdseye map style. This map style is called BirdseyeHybrid and is a new member of the VEMapStyle Enumeration.

Walking Directions. Provide users the option to walk to their destination by returning walking directions instead of driving directions. To return walking directions, set the VERouteOptions.RouteMode Property to VERouteMode.Walking.

Multipoint Routing. A new method takes multiple points for a route instead of just start and end points, allowing for more complex trip planning. Localized directions are also available in this version. Use the VEMap.GetDirections Method to get a multipoint route.

Bulk Addition of Shapes. A new method to add multiple pushpins in one call while maintaining high performance and avoiding performance slowdowns. Use the VEMap.AddShape Method to add multiple pushpins.

Improved Shape Control. You can now specify how a shape object appears relative to other shapes or tile objects, providing greater control in viewing data and objects. Use the VEShape Class to create shapes.

MapCruncher (Beta). MapCruncher Beta for Microsoft Virtual Earth makes it easy to publish maps overlaid in an application using the Virtual Earth map control. See the MapCruncher Web page for further information.

3D Altitude Settings. Altitudes for three-dimensional objects can now be specified in meters.

Updated interactive SDK. A new version of the Virtual Earth Interactive SDK is available, demonstrating the new functionality of the Virtual Earth Map Control. See the Virtual Earth Interactive SDK Web page for further information.

Enhanced Performance

There have been significant speed and accuracy improvements for pushpins and shapes, even in high numbers. Performance enhancements also include faster map panning.

Version Changelist is available here: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb412440.aspx

2008 Pennsylvania GIS Conference

2008-04-10T16:29:00.003-04:00

The Sixteenth Annual Pennsylvania GIS Conference (2008) is coming up:
May 14-15, 2008, at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Conference Center, Camp Hill, PA

http://cgis.hbg.psu.edu/conference/home.aspx?script=yes

"Sustaining and Leveraging Our Geospatial Investment"

The Pennsylvania GIS Conference will convene for the16th year on May 14-15, 2008 at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center in Camp Hill, PA. This year’s theme is “Sustaining and Leveraging Our Geospatial Investment.” Geospatial technology moves ahead, offering us more and more methods and tools for geospatial analysis and information management. Our geospatial assets continue to grow as local governments and private industry invest in data, people, and services. And the Commonwealth continues to build the framework of a Spatial Data Infrastructure through programs like PAMAP. The 2008 PA GIS Conference will explore the challengesand benefits of these continuing trends. David Harding from NASA will offer the keynote speech this year. He will present a fascinating look into NASA’s innovative uses of LiDAR technology.

This year at the PA GIS Conference the PAMAP Program will present its first annual Innovative Application Award to the two GIS applications that make the most creative use of PAMAP orthoimagery and/or LiDAR data. The competition is open to any individual or organization– commercial or non-profit. Application submissions are due by March 29, 2008. Winners will be announced in mid-April and will be presented at the conference. Consider entering your PAMAP applications and becomethe first recipient of the PAMAP Innovative Application Award!

Also this year, Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) will be conducting a map display gallery and competition in the main plenary hall. HACC’s Geospatial Programs Director and conference committee member, Nicole Ernst,will be organizing the event. Students and other GIS professionals are encouraged to make entries. Nicole is also reviving the Education Track at this year’s conference and will be showcasing a number of creative student GIS applications.

Discovery Channel Mapping...

2008-04-09T19:42:00.010-04:00

Here's a neat site - Discovery Channel's "Earth Live" features a 3D globe, which can be revolved by the user, with in layers relating to various stories, news items and features carried on the Discovery Channel - in some cases, the layers feature time-sequence animation (screen capture of polar ice cover layers below):

Though you can't zoom in or out, or add custom layers you can mix and match layers to create your own views... A neat little 3D globe.

http://dsc.discovery.com/guides/discovery-earth-live/discovery-earth-live.html?dcitc=w01-104-ae-0010

from slippy maps to spinny maps...

Additional Information on ST_Geometry Issues

2008-04-09T19:04:00.006-04:00

Some additional information received relative to ST_Geometry issues:

There is a second Software Alert you should be aware of as it may impact your Oracle customers using our 9.2 ST_Geometry spatial type with Oracle 10g R2. This may result in incorrect query results under certain conditions. Our HQ marketing group will also send a newsflash email to all the BPs with additional details.

Summary of the Problem
An Oracle RDBMS bug (Patch 6756089) has been encountered that can cause spatial selections to be wrong for feature classes using ST_Geometry (ESRI’s implementation of a SQL type for Spatial).
When a feature is inserted into a table that stores features using ST_Geometry, its envelope calculation can be truncated, leading to incorrect results with a spatial selection.

Who is affected?
This Oracle bug affects Oracle 10g users of ArcSDE 9.2 geodatabases using the spatial type (ST_GEOMETRY) to store their features and where the precision goes beyond the 5th decimal place. Again, this problem only affects users that work with geometry data that has an x,y decimal precision greater than 5 (e.g.; 11.1234567 will be truncated to 11.12345).

What is ESRI doing about it?
ESRI submitted a problem report to Oracle. Oracle has acknowledged, repaired, and patched the defect (Patch 6756089 and 6867052). Additionally, ESRI is building a utility to update the envelope and spatial index for each feature class once the Oracle patch has been installed.

Additional info on second reported ST_Geometry issue

There is a second Software Alert you should be aware of as it may impact your Oracle customers using our 9.2 ST_Geometry spatial type with Oracle 10g R2. This may result in incorrect query results under certain conditions. Please read the notice below and inform your customers as appropriate.

Software
Alert for Oracle 10g DBMS Patch 6756089 and 6867052

Communication to Our Users
April 3, 2008

Summary of the Problem
An Oracle RDBMS bug (Patch 6756089) has been encountered that can cause spatial selections to be wrong for feature classes using ST_Geometry (ESRI’s implementation of a SQL type for Spatial). When a feature is inserted into a table that stores features using ST_Geometry, its envelope calculation can be truncated, leading to incorrect results with a spatial selection.

Who is affected?
This Oracle bug affects Oracle 10g users of ArcSDE 9.2 geodatabases using the spatial type (ST_GEOMETRY) to store their features and where the precision goes beyond the 5th decimal place. Again, this problem only affects users that work with geometry data that has an x,y decimal precision greater than 5 (e.g.; 11.1234567 will be truncated to 11.12345).

What is ESRI doing about it?
ESRI submitted a problem report to Oracle. Oracle has acknowledged, repaired, and patched the defect (Patch 6756089 and 6867052). Additionally, ESRI is building a utility to update the envelope and spatial index for each feature class once the Oracle patch has been installed. We expect our utility to be available by the end of the week of March 31. It will be available as a download from the ArcSDE download page (the
same location as hot fixes and service packs).

Where and when can I get the patch from Oracle?
There are a number of platforms to patch. To date, Oracle has only provided patches for the Linux, Sun Solaris and Windows (32-bit) platforms for Oracle 10g. Please go
to Oracle’s MetaLink page (http://metalink.oracle.com/) to check patch availability and to download the patch when it becomes available for any given platform needed.

The patch description for Linux and Sun Solaris is:
Patch:
6756089
Description: USING A DBMS TYPE IN OCI AND FLOATS ARE BEING ROUNDED OFF
Product RDBMS Server
The patch description for Windows is as follows:
Patch: 6867052
Description: ORACLE 10.2.0.3 PATCH 19 BUG FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS 32BIT

ESRI Products and Versions that are affected by this Oracle bug
Any ArcSDE client application (e.g., ArcGIS 9.2, ArcIMS 9.2) that uses ArcSDE 9.2 for Oracle 10g (and service packs) with the ST_Geometry spatial type

Additional Information
Q. How do I know if I have the problem?
A. If you are using ArcSDE 9.2 for Oracle 10g, storing features as the spatial type (ST_GEOMETRY), and have greater than 5 decimal places of precision, you should assume the problem exists, even if you have not seen incorrect spatial query results.

Q. When should I install the Oracle patch?
A. As soon as it becomes available for your platform. After installation of the Oracle patch, please be sure to download the utility provided by ESRI to fix the envelope and update your spatial index.

Q: I've noticed that Oracle has released the patch for version 10.2.0.3 on some platforms. What does that mean to our customers that have upgraded or are planning to upgrade to 10.2.0.4? Do they need to drop back a patch release in order to install this? Apply the patch again?
A: We do not know the answer to this yet. We’ll provide the answer in KB34527 when we know it.

Q. What do I do if Oracle has not released a patch for my environment?
A. Contact your Oracle account team, reference the Oracle Metalink and tell them
you need the patch.

Q: Is the utility to fix the envelopes and re-create the spatial index for each feature class available for download?
A: Not yet. We expect to put it up on the ArcSDE download page (where patches are downloaded) by the end of the week of March 31.

Q: Will we have documentation that explains this problem in more detail?
A: Yes, please see KB article 34527.

Q. Does this issue impact our customers that are using the SDO_Geometry type?
A. No. Oracle Spatial (SDO_GEOMETRY) does not store the envelope of the geometry as an attribute of the object.

Q. Is Oracle 9i affected?
A. No, this problem is in 10g only.

Related ongoing discussion in ESRI forums:

http://forums.esri.com/Thread.asp?c=158&f=2291&t=250200&mc=8

Software Alert for ArcGIS Server 9.2 with Oracle 10.2.0.4

2008-04-07T22:39:00.004-04:00

Just got this item...

Software Alert for ArcGIS Server 9.2 with Oracle
10.2.0.4

April 4, 2008

Introduction

Recently two ESRI customers have reported problems to ESRI Technical Support after upgrading to Oracle 10.2.0.4. The Oracle upgrade appears to be deleting some schema elements we require for the spatial type (ST_GEOMETRY). Uninstalling the upgrade to restore the prior version of Oracle does not work. ESRI is in contact with Oracle and we are working together to understand and quickly resolve the problem in this Oracle 10.2.0.4 patch upgrade.

ESRI is strongly recommending that all Oracle based customers do not upgrade to Oracle patch version 10.2.0.4 until ESRI has certified this Oracle patch release with ArcGIS Server 9.2. If you have already upgraded to Oracle 10.2.0.4 and have questions, please contact ESRI Technical Support or your local international distributor as soon as possible.

Summary of the Problem:

ArcSDE 9.2 instances create PUBLIC synonyms for the SDE ST_GEOMETRY and subtypes; along with several geometry, relation and assessor operators and functions. Upgrading to Oracle 10.2.0.4 causes ArcSDE 9.2 instances to fail during several operations including "create feature class" when the reference to ST_GEOMETRY now refers to MDSYS.ST_GEOMETRY (a.k.a. SDO_GEOMETRY).

Please note: At ESRI, we have not been able to successfully roll back from the Oracle 10.2.0.4 to the previous Oracle release.

Census 2007 TIGER/Line Data Now Available

2008-04-02T08:46:00.006-04:00

The US Census Bureau announced on March 31st that the 2007 TIGER/Line data is available for download as shapefiles. The main page with documentation and changes is located here: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/tgrshp2007/tgrshp2007.html

The downloads can be found here: http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/geo/shapefiles/national-files, categorized by national datasets, states, and tribal datasets.

ESRI FedUC - Day 2 (sort-of...)

2008-02-21T21:01:00.004-05:00

I am just now making my way back on the Metro back from the reception at the National Geographic, tacking together some unfiltered notes from earlier in the day- my meeting was punctuated by outside meetings in Alexandria and Fairfax, so I managed to get in about 1.6 sessions, and got back just in time to find that the EPA Q&A session was shut out by the passionate Bern Szukalski.

Nonetheless, I attended the "What's New in ArcGIS Server 9.3" session this morning, hosted by Dave Wrazien.

Dave touched on a number of things slated for release, and which gave me some cause for interest, most notably the new APIs

Some bullet points and excerpts from my notes:

Effort is being made by the Server development team to reduce server roundtrips and traffic, via AJAX requests and the ASP.NET approach

A number of JavaScript enhancements have been made to improve the user experience, with an expanded JavaScript library, providing feedback and visual cues ala Flash and Silverlight, such as informative progress bars, pixel-zoom and fade-in zooms as the next zoom level loads.

In terms of OGC interop, AGS 9.3 features support for:

WMS and SLD: 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.3 / ISO19128
WFS 1.1, GML 3.0, WFS-T 1.1
WCS 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.1

The REST and JavaScript APIs are probably the most exciting for me. Here, Dave highlighted integration opportunities for VE, Google, Yahoo and others, along with functionality for basic map display, navigation, querying, geocoding, and geoprocessing. Later on, there was mention that the JavaScript API makes use of the REST endpoints.

With respect to platform support, some of the highlights mentioned were

JDK 5.0
PostgreSQL/PostGIS
DB2 and Z/OS
SQL Server 2008 (to come in a service pack release)

In terms of usability, the aim in 9.3 is for fewer button clicks, enhancements to the web map viewer, streamlined processes and a simplified UI.

Improvements to Server Manager are likewise on the horizon for 9.3, with wizards to simplify:

Access Control
Cache Management

Along with a Mobile Management Console and a Web Map Migration Utility.

Cache Management makes some significant strides, allowing static datasets to be prerendered- and in the Mobile Management Console, improvements driven by user use cases allows opportunity for populating mobile devices with lower server and communications overhead. Additionally, while 9.2 only provided mobile developers with an SDK, 9.3 provides templates and other resources toward jumpstart.

More to follow…

A flying paleobeastie in the lobby of National Geographic...

ESRI FedUC Day 1

2008-02-20T20:18:00.006-05:00

You actually won't find a whole lot from me here on ESRI FedUC - today was mainly taken up by the Plenary session, and due to a number of meetings, I was bouncing in and out for a chunk of the day - but some of the highlights I picked up on:

A big emphasis was put on ArcGIS Explorer - speaking to notes, lightweight pushpin objects and other things which will enhance the geobrowser experience. Some good examples again highlighting custom tasks, however not a lot of detail on the plumbing and integration experience.

The other big highlight for me - ArcGIS Server previews - One very cool thing I noticed was the JavaScript API, where they did what appeared to be some very fast, painless and very nice integration with Virtual Earth, via JavaScript arcgisve_service calls. Definitely one feature I'd like to kick the tires on a bit.

The keynote was given via a prerecorded presentation from the Secretary of the Interior - this was followed by a few presentations and points from other areas within DOI - featuring NILS - the National Integrated Land System within GeoCommunicator: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/nils.html

But for me, the meetings have thus far been the highlight of the day....

And now... the obligatory blurry camera phone of the backs of heads:

And next... the comments about "lame blogging" and "why couldn't James be there..."

Alabama HB 333, Special Interest To Undermine Surveying

2008-02-18T09:25:00.003-05:00

As I posted previously, Alabama House Bill 333 strives to allow unlicensed individuals to perform surveying in rural areas - however, quite often it's rural areas which have significant cadastral disputes, problems with records and field evidence, and so on - which all the more require professional expertise and judgement from a knowledgeable land surveyor.

To provide some additional background, the Press-Register in Alabama provides a few details on the dispute - evidently an unlicensed, retired individual with a background as a Process Engineer was seeking to offer surveying services, and was reprimanded by the Alabama licensure board. Claims have been raised that it's "impossible to get licensed" and "impossible to pay a reasonable amount" to have a surveyor retrace the boundary or help resolve disputes.

These are countered by this analysis by Greg Spies, in the following points sent out to ASPLS:

House Bill 333

1. This bill is a slap in the face of everyone who is licensed or in the process of obtaining their license;

2. Evidently this bill was introduced for the sole benefit of an individual who is not a member of the surveying profession in Alabama; this individual, a retired engineer, allegedly, has been reported to the BOL for surveying without a license;

3. HB 333 is a retaliatory bill and places the interests of one individual (who allegedly has been surveying without a license) over the interests of every surveyor in Alabama who followed the legal procedure as defined by the Code of Alabama (1975, as amended) when they obtained their license;

4. HB 333 will set the practice of surveying back 100 years or more; it eliminates professionalism in surveying;

5. HB 333 was drafted without any input or notice from the surveying profession;

6. No licensed surveyor in the State of Alabama supports this bill.

7. The concept of a less educated, less experienced person being allowed to "survey" as a "rural surveyor" is ludicrous, to wit:

a.) rural areas in Alabama comprise approximately 90% of the geographical area of the state;

b.) 90% + of our major interstate and state highways traverse rural areas;

c.) rural areas are mostly more difficult to survey than urbanized areas in that there are fewer recent recorded subdivisions in near vicinity;

d.) surveyors are required to retrace older township plats generated during the U.S. Public Land Survey- these plats are 150 - 200 years old; the physical evidence generated during the original surveys is either lost, obliterated or difficult to find (i.e., the monuments set the bearing trees called for, etc.);

e.) prior surveys (c. 1850-1950) in rural areas were generally poorly done by so-called "rural surveyors" (e.g., non-professional surveyors, engineers, land owners, farmers, etc.) who had little if no experience and education in the art & science of surveying which has caused innumerable problems that must be dealt with by the surveyor of today;

f.) if "rural surveyors" as defined by HB 333 are allowed to practice in Alabama an increase in boundary disputes and subsequent litigation will occur; most boundary disputes and litigation occurring today is because of under-educated and under-experienced "surveyors" having determined the location of a boundary by using poor methods and extremely poor professional judgment and protocol;

g.) Elevation certificates and land title surveys require a knowledgeable and experienced professional surveyor to gather the requisite data for FEMA and the Land Title professionals; These specialized types of surveys require a surveyor to be able to accurately determine difference in elevation relative to a particular datum and require a surveyor who is trained to evaluate the record evidence as it affects a property he is surveying; the "rural surveyor" would not have the skill, experience or knowledge to accomplish these complex types of surveys;

Some have said that it takes too long to find a surveyor in certain parts of Alabama; This is true and the profession needs to address this issue and provide assistance to those counties that have no resident licensed surveyors; We should identify these areas in the vicinity of our practice and periodically offer our services in those areas;

Some have said that the cost of surveying a cotton field or a pasture is too great compared to the value of the land;

It makes absolutely no sense, however, to lower the standards of the profession of surveying for the sake of expediency and expense. Surveyors generally are some of the lowest paid professionals who work within the State.

The surveying profession has steadily sought to raise the bar of the profession over the past 80 years; the legislature passed a bill that was signed into law by the governor in 1996 that requires a four year surveying degree and an additional four years of experience under a licensed surveyor for an individual to apply to take the test to obtain his license; This method of obtaining a license to survey in Alabama supercedes an apprenticeship method that required 8 years of experience under a licensed surveyor to take the test; the window to obtain a license by the former method closed Dec. 31st, 2007.

Interestingly HB 333 was filed just a few weeks after this window closed.

What we need is a bill to strengthen the penalties for someone who surveys without a license. We do not need this "dumb down bill" that would gut the existing laws on the books related to surveying;

Tell your legislators to stop HB 333 from seeing the light of day; this bill needs to be seen for what it is- a veiled attempt to assist a constituent who has broken the law.

Topcon and Sokkia: Engagement leads to Marriage

2008-02-17T14:05:00.005-05:00

Looks like the discussions that started last year between Topcon and Sokkia have led to Topcon acquiring 94% of Sokkia's outstanding stock - 32 million shares, for $194 million.

It will be interesting to see what this does moving forward, along with prior relationships on the GPS front between Sokkia and Novatel, which was purchased by Leica since.

Topcon's press release: http://www.topconpositioning.com/news-events/single/item/topcon-sokkia-combine-to-create-worlds-leading-survey-instruments-supplier/

Alabama HB 333

2008-02-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

The Alabama Legislature currently has a bill pending, HB 333, sponsored by Rep. Keahey, which essentially waters down Alabama's regulation for the practice of land surveying - an excerpt of the proposed bill is presented below:

Section 2. (a) The practice of rural land surveyor is limited to rural areas and municipalities with a population of less than 5,000.
(b) To qualify as a rural land surveyor one must meet one of the following requirements:
(1) Graduation from a four-year curriculum in civil engineering or forestry and successfully passing a written examination approved by the board relating to the laws, procedures, and practices of land surveying in Alabama.
(2) Graduation from an approved technical curriculum related to surveying or forestry; two years of supervised surveying experience; and successfully passing a written examination approved by the board relating to the laws, procedures, and practices of land surveying in Alabama.
(3) Eight or more years of field experience in land surveying and letters of recommendation from at least three individuals that will attest to satisfactory surveying work during these years.

Option 3 above bypasses the examination, it allows anyone to recommend the applicant, and thereby bypasses vetting of applicants. The traditional approach pursued, implemented and recommended by NCEES and most State Registration Boards has been to strive for a stable foundation which is not based on any single yardstick, but instead a combination of education, experience and examinations. Further, the case here in Pennsylvania has been to ensure that the applicant has some minimum amount of experience with boundary surveys, has been exposed to both field and office practices, and that experience gained has been progressive, and under the oversight of a licensed professional.

The full bill text is available here: AL HB333

This bill is inconsistent with all prior efforts toward regulation of the surveying profession in Alabama, is inconsistent with NCEES recommendations and their Model Law, and otherwise ill-advised in many ways.

Alabama residents are strongly urged to consider contacting their representatives and recommending opposition to this bill - call (334)242-7600 and ask to be put in touch with your representative.