The GeoNode is open source software that provides an open service. We encourage you to build new applications using its components and the resources it provides. This page is a starting point for developers interesting in taking full advantage of the GeoNode. It also includes links to the project’s source code so anyone can build and customize their own GeoNode.
GeoNode Software
All the code that runs the GeoNode is open source. The code is available through SVN. There is also an issue tracker for the project. Look here for new and improvement community resources coming soon!
The GeoNode is built using several open source projects, each with its own community. If you are interested in contributing new features to the GeoNode, we encourage you to do so by contributing to one of the projects on which it is built:
- GeoExt – The JavaScript toolkit for rich web mapping applications
- OpenLayers – Pure JavaScript library powering the maps of GeoExt
- GeoWebCache – Cache engine for WMS Tiles
- GeoServer – Standards based server for geospatial information
What are OGC Services?
The data provided in a GeoNode is served using open standards endorsed by the Open Geospatial Consortium; in particular, WMS (Web Mapping Service) is used for accessing maps and WFS (the Web Feature Service) is used for accessing data. You can use these services in your own applications using libraries such as OpenLayers, GeoTools, and OGR (all of which are open-source software and available at zero cost).
What is GeoWebCache?
GeoWebCache provides mapping tiles that are compatible with a number of mapping engines, including Google Maps, Bing Maps and OpenLayers. All the data hosted by the GeoNode is also available through GeoWebCache. GeoWebCache improves on WMS by caching data and returning it much more quickly.