GDAL
The Geospatial Data Abstraction Library is a computer software library for reading and writing raster and vector geospatial data formats, and is released under the permissive X/MIT style free software license by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation. As a library, it presents a single abstract data model to the calling application for all supported formats. It may also be built with a variety of useful command line interface utilities for data translation and processing. Projections and transformations are supported by the PROJ library.
The related OGR library, which is part of the GDAL source tree, provides a similar ability for simple features vector graphics data.
GDAL was developed mainly by Frank Warmerdam until the release of version 1.3.2, when maintenance was officially transferred to the GDAL/OGR Project Management Committee under the Open Source Geospatial Foundation.
GDAL/OGR is considered a major free software project for its "extensive capabilities of data exchange" and also in the commercial GIS community due to its widespread use and comprehensive set of functionalities.
Software using GDAL/OGR
Several software programs use the GDAL/OGR libraries to allow them to read and write multiple GIS formats. Such programs include:- ArcGIS – Uses GDAL for custom raster formats
- Avenza MAPublisher - GIS and mapping tools for Adobe Illustrator. Uses GDAL for coordinate system transformation, format reading & writing, geometry operations, & unit conversion.
- Avenza Geographic Imager - Spatial imaging tools for Adobe Photoshop. Uses GDAL for coordinate system transformation, format reading & writing, & unit conversion.
- Avenza Maps - iOS & Android mobile mapping application. Uses GDAL to read metadata information for geospatial maps / data to transform them to WGS84 for offline navigation.
- Biosphere3D – Open source landscape scenery globe
- Biotop Invent
- Cadwork
- ENVI – Remote Sensing software
- ERDAS APOLLO - Image Server and remote sensing geo-services
- ERDAS GeoCompressor - Image compression to ECW and JP2 formats
- Geoconcept integrated GDAL in its 7.1 release
- FWTools – A cross-platform open source GIS software bundle compiled by Frank Warmerdam
- gdaltokmz – A Python module translating from GDAL-supported raster graphics formats to the Google Earth KMZ format
- GeoDjango – Django's support for GIS-enabled databases
- – iOS mobile mapping application
- Google Earth – A virtual globe and world imaging program
- GRASS GIS
- gvSIG
- JMap
- MangoMap
- MapServer
- MapWindow GIS - Open Source C++ based geographic information system, ActiveX Control, and application programmer interface
- Merkaartor
- World Wind Java – NASA's open source virtual globe and world imaging technology
- Open Source Geospatial Foundation – Libraries and applications used to process imagery, maps, terrain, and vector data
- OpenEV – Geospatial toolkit and a frontend to that toolkit; to display georeferenced images and elevation data
- Orfeo toolbox – A satellite image processing library
- QGIS
- R – An open source statistical software with extensions for spatial data analysis.
- SAGA GIS – A cross-platform open source GIS software
- TopoQuest – Internet topographic map viewer
- Rolta Geomatica software
Supported raster data formats
Here follows the list of data formats whose support is, by default, compiled to allow creation and georeferencing.
| Raster data format name | Code |
| Arc/Info ASCII Grid | AAIGrid |
| ADRG/ARC Digitalized Raster Graphics | ADRG |
| Bathymetric Attributed Grid | BAG |
| Magellan BLX Topo | BLX |
| Microsoft Windows Device Independent Bitmap | BMP |
| VTP Binary Terrain Format | BT |
| Military Elevation Data | DTED |
| ESRI.hdr Labelled | EHdr |
| NASA ELAS | ELAS |
| ENVI.hdr Labelled Raster | ENVI |
| ERMapper | ERS |
| NOAA.gtx vertical datum shift | GTX |
| HF2/HFZ heightfield raster | HF2 |
| Erdas Imagine | HFA |
| Image Display and Analysis | IDA |
| ILWIS Raster Map | ILWIS |
| Intergraph Raster | INGR |
| USGS Astrogeology Isis cube | ISIS2 |
| KMLSUPEROVERLAY | KMLSUPEROVERLAY |
| In Memory Raster | MEM |
| Vexcel MFF | MFF |
| Vexcel MFF2 | MFF2 |
| NITF | NITF |
| NTv2 Datum Grid Shift | NTv2 |
| PCI Geomatics Database File | PCIDSK |
| Raster Matrix Format | RMF |
| Idrisi Raster | RST |
| SAGA GIS Binary format | SAGA |
| SGI Image Format | SGI |
| SRTM HGT Format | SRTMHGT |
| USGS ASCII DEM / CDED | USGSDEM |
| GDAL Virtual | VRT |
| ASCII Gridded XYZ | XYZ |