[R-sig-Geo] About C API of GEOS for sp packages

[Edzer J. Pebesma]

Hisaji ONO wrote:

>Hello.
>
> Currently C API of GEOS seems to be available according
>to http://geos.refractions.net/ro/CVS.txt.
>
> Current spgpclib cannot be used for commercial use.
>
> I think it will be better to use GEOS(its license is GPL,
>probably) , based on OpenGIS and has more functions than
>gpclib.
>
> Has sp packages dev. team any plan to develop new sp
>package employing GEOS instead of gpclib?
>
>
> Regards.
>
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>  
>
Hisaji, the sp development team has discussed this,
and we have contacted the gpclib group to  find out
what exactly the limitations are.

It seems that the limitations are related to developing
software using gpclib, rather than using the code
that has been developed with gpclib. If we
were in whatever sense paid to develop sp (and
spgpclib), we would have obligations to the gpclib
developers. We are however not involved in this with
a commercial goal, and so are free to develop using
gpclib without restrictions. The licence restrictions
do not hold for the code developed, or to use by
end-users.

The gpclib group has chosen not to distribute gpclib
under the GPL because that would impose too much
restrictions on further possible uses of gpclib in other
applications. They have also allowed for using gpclib
non-commercially in applications distributed under
the GPL, without enforcing restrictions on the application(s)
redistributed.

So, we don't see actually problems in using or
redistributing R packages that use (include) gpclib.

GEOS is certainly a library that we would like to use,
but none of us is really familiar with the code, and
none of us is _very_ experienced in using C++; we
consider it as a major effort with low priority.

There's also the issue of how much GIS functionality
do we want, and need, in the R environment?

Which of the functionality in GEOS do you think is
missing from gpclib, and needed in R?
--
Edzer