Mastering Geospatial Development with QGIS 3.x

Go beyond the basics and unleash the full power of QGIS 3.4 and 3.6 with practical, step-by-step examples

Key Features

• One-stop solution to all of your GIS needs
• Master QGIS by learning about database integration, and geoprocessing tools
• Learn about the new and updated Processing toolbox and perform spatial analysis

Book Description

QGIS is an open source solution to GIS and widely used by GIS professionals all over the world. It is the leading alternative to proprietary GIS software. Although QGIS is described as intuitive, it is also, by default, complex. Knowing which tools to use and how to apply them is essential to producing valuable deliverables on time.

Starting with a refresher on the QGIS basics and getting you acquainted with the latest QGIS 3.6 updates, this book will take you all the way through to teaching you how to create a spatial database and a GeoPackage. Next, you will learn how to style raster and vector data by choosing and managing different colors. The book will then focus on processing raster and vector data. You will be then taught advanced applications, such as creating and editing vector data. Along with that, you will also learn about the newly updated Processing Toolbox, which will help you develop the advanced data visualizations. The book will then explain to you the graphic modeler, how to create QGIS plugins with PyQGIS, and how to integrate Python analysis scripts with QGIS.

By the end of the book, you will understand how to work with all aspects of QGIS and will be ready to use it for any type of GIS work.

What you will learn

• Create and manage a spatial database
• Get to know advanced techniques to style GIS data
• Prepare both vector and raster data for processing
• Add heat maps, live layer effects, and labels to your maps
• Master LAStools and GRASS integration with the Processing Toolbox
• Edit and repair topological data errors
• Automate workflows with batch processing and the QGIS Graphical Modeler
• Integrate Python scripting into your data processing workflows
• Develop your own QGIS plugins

Who this book is for

If you are a GIS professional, a consultant, a student, or perhaps a fast learner who wants to go beyond the basics of QGIS, then this book is for you. It will prepare you to realize the full potential of QGIS.

Table of Contents

1. What's New in QGIS 3
2. Styling Raster and Vector Data
3. Creating Spatial Databases and Working with GeoPackages
4. Preparing Vector Data for Processing
5. Preparing Raster Data for Processing
6. Advanced Data Creation and Editing
7. Advanced Data Visualization
8. The Processing Toolbox
9. Automating Workflows with the Graphical Modeler
10. Creating QGIS Plugins with PyQGIS and Problem Solving
11. PyQGIS Scripting

Shammunul Islam is a consulting spatial data scientist at the Institute of Remote Sensing, Jahangirnagar University, and a senior consultant at ERI, Bangladesh. He develops applications for automating geospatial and statistical analysis in different domains such as in the fields of the environment, climate, and socio-economy. He also consults as a survey statistician and provides corporate training on data science to businesses. He holds an MA in Climate and Society from Columbia University, an MA in development studies, and a BSc in statistics. Simon Miles is a GIS developer working for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, and has been working in the GIS industry since 2003. He always works using open source technologies. His main kit includes QGIS, PostGIS, Python, GDAL, Leaflet, JavaScript, and PHP. His main focus is on digital delivery/transformation, chiefly through the consolidation of data, applications, and legacy systems, and replacing these with APIs and web applications. In 2013, He helped to establish the UK QGIS user group, which holds regional meetings two or three times a year. Kurt Menke, a certified GIS Professional (GISP), has been working in the GIS field since 1997. Prior to this, he worked as a professional archaeologist for 10 years in the American Southwest. He earned a master's degree (MA) in Geography from the University of New Mexico in 2000. That same year, he founded Bird's Eye View (www.BirdsEyeViewGIS.com) to apply his expertise with the GIS technology to the World's mounting ecological and social problems. Towards this end, Mr. Menke's work focuses largely on wildlife conservation and public health. His specialties are spatial analysis, modeling, and cartography. He is a longtime advocate of FOSS4G. He began writing MapServer applications in 2001 and has been using QGIS since 2007. He is one of the coauthors of the curriculum at the FOSS4G Academy Richard Smith Jr., GISP, is an asst. professor of geographic information science in the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. He has a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Georgia, MSc in computer science, and BSc in geographic information science from Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. He researches in cartography, systems integration, and the use of geospatial technology for disaster response. He is an advocate for FOSS4G and building a FOSS4G curriculum. He is a co-author of the FOSS4G Academy. Luigi Pirelli is a QGIS developer and software analyst with a degree in computer science from Bari University. He has worked in the Satellite Ground Segment and Direct Ingestion for the European Space Agency. He is involved in GFOSS world, contributing in QGIS, GRASS, & MapServer core, and developing QGIS plugins. Luigi is the founder of the OSGEO Italian local GFOSS chapter. He has taught PyQGIS, delivered training from basic to advanced levels, and supported companies to develop their own QGIS plugins. He founded a local hackerspace group-Bricolabs.cc. He likes training groups on conflict resolution. He contributed to the Lonely Planet guide Cycling Italy. John Van Hoesen, GISP, is an associate professor of geology and environmental studies at Green Mountain College in rural west-central Vermont, USA. He has an MS and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is a certified GISP with a broad background in the geosciences and has used some flavor of GIS to evaluate and explore geological processes and environmental issues. John has taught graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education courses using some variants of FOSS GIS since 2003.