Sourcepole is conducting a QGIS workshop and giving two presentations: Workshop: New features for QGIS power users QGIS, what’s new? Publishing maps from the desktop with QGIS server There are more QGIS workshops and presentations: Workshop: Customizing QGIS with Python Plugins Efficiently using PostGIS with QGIS Quantum GIS & Inkscape: Cartographic Tools for Attractive Maps Web Mapping Performance Shootout Case studies: QGIS in an Academic Library: A Case Study Cellular Automata QuantumGIS plugin and web-based application A WPS Based Biogeography Tool for QGIS FOSS4G: Technology Enabling Humanitarian Relief Efforts A Prototype of open source tool for water resources management in developing countries So if you’re interested in QGIS, don’t miss FOSS4G 2011 in Denver. Read on

Abstract Using string-eval in Ruby for metaprogramming is unnecessarily obscuring. Ruby’s more modern and specific metaprogramming methods should be used instead whenever possible. This problem is illustrated on the example of Ruby’s Forwardable class. In detail… Ruby’s Forwardable class is using metaprogramming to forward calls from a frontend interface to an instance in the back executing the call. Metaprogramming is the discipline of making code that creates code. This task allready is rather abstract and hard to grasp in itself. Read on

Yesterday, we had our first meeting with Marco Bernasocchi, who just started his Google Summer of Code project. The project goals are: porting QGIS to the Android platform adapt the QGIS GUI for tablet computers write a driver for the built-in GPS create a QGIS “mini” application for mobile phones Marco Hugentobler is mentoring the project and updated information will be available on a QGIS Wiki page. We wish Marco good luck and are looking forward to a portable QGIS this year! Read on

There are various approaches when trying to extend the Textile markup that RedCloth understands with own tags or syntax. Some approaches documented on the net have changed or don’t work any more, since RedCloth has been rewritten in Version 4. Below is a fairly robust aproach, that is based on the assumption, that RedCloth leaves HTML tags inside the markup untouched and passes them on to the application consuming the translated markup. Read on

There might be a reason to upgrade to rubygems 1.7.x, however if you have done so by misstake and find your console swamped by thousands of deprecation warnings: NOTE: Gem::Specification#default_executable= is deprecated with no replacement. It will be removed on or after 2011-10-01. and you’re crying desperately for help, then you might try the following very ugly hack, which you should revert at some point in time: First look where your rubygems are installed: Read on