Introduction

BlueSpray is a powerful, fast, and easy to use GIS system. BlueSpray is provided to help non-profit and educational staff some features that are not available with either commercial or open-source alternatives. BlueSpray specifically provides some very fast raster operations and a number of features for placing spatial data on the web. BlueSpray can also be automated from Python.

To get started you'll want to visit the Getting Started web page. Then, come back to the "Contents" page for more information. This help is available on the SchoonerTurtles web site and is downloaded with BlueSpray and available through the "Help" menu.

Note: BlueSpray is in beta test phase. Contact Jim Graham (jimg@schoonerturtles.com) and request becoming a beta tester.  Please check the release notes for the current state of BlueSpray, defects, repairs, and future features.

Some highlights of BlueSpray are :

• Easy to use through a simple and powerful graphic user interface
• High-Performance with fast startup, processing, and rendering
• A great value
• High-Quality backed by online support (emailing me for right now)
• Flexible allowing extensions through scripts and Java programming
• Powerful with the ability to automate tasks
• Full featured GIS package with the basic features you need at your fingertips and a growing number of extensions

BlueSpray is also the most flexible GIS program available as it can run as an easy-to-use application, a command line GIS processor, a GIS Server, and a variety of applets. Since BlueSpray is completely written in Java it can be run on UNIX, Macintosh, or Windows based computers.

BlueSpray is not the only GIS application you will probably need, instead it fills a niche where other applications are missing functionality. We also recommend QGIS as a general GIS application and R for spatial statistics.