Open Source GIS Library

TerraLib is a GIS classes and functions library, available from the Internet as open source, allowing a collaborative environment and its use for the development of multiple GIS tools. Its main aim is to enable the development of a new generation of GIS applications, based on the technological advances on spatial databases.

On a practical side, TerraLib enables quick development of custom-built geographical applications using spatial databases. As a research tool, TerraLib  is aimed at providing a rich and powerful environment for the development of GIScience research, enabling the development of GIS prototypes that include new concepts such as spatio-temporal data models, geographical ontologies and advanced spatial analysis techniques. TerraLib defines a geographical data model and provides support for this model over a range of different DBMS (MySQL, PostgreSQL, ORACLE e ACCESS), and is implemented as a library of C++ classes and functions, written in ANSI-C++ (INCITS / ISO/ IEC 14882:1998).
TerraLib is being developed by DPI (Image Processing Division) at INPE (National Institute for Space Research), Tecgraf , the Computer Graphics Technology Group of PUC-Rio (the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil) and FUNCATE (Foundation for the Space Science, Applied Research and Technology).