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Open standards

Open standards are publicly available specifications for data formats, protocols, or interfaces. They are:

  • Publicly documented: Complete specifications freely available
  • Vendor-neutral: Not controlled by any single company
  • Royalty-free: Can be implemented without licensing fees
  • Interoperable: Enable different software systems to work together

Open standars are all around us, you make use of them everyday. Think of USB-C, HDMI, tile sizes, wooden beam size, railway tracks, metric system.

The OGC develops open standards for geospatial data and services. Some relevant standards are:

  • GeoPackage: SQLite-based format for storing geospatial data in a single file
  • GeoJSON: JSON-based format for geographic data structures
  • Simple Feature Access (SFA): Defines geometric features (points, lines, polygons) in databases
  • No vendor lock-in: Data remains accessible regardless of software vendor decisions
  • Cost control: No recurring licensing fees or forced upgrades
  • Tool flexibility: Use the best software for each task
  • Transparency: Understand how calculations are performed
  • Customization: Modify software for specific project requirements
  • Integration: Seamless data exchange between different tools
  • Reproducibility: Analysis workflows can be shared and verified
  • Peer review: Methods can be independently validated
  • Community support: Access to global communities of practice
  • Future-proofing: Open formats ensure long-term data accessibility

Traditional geotechnical formats (AGS, DIGGS, GEF) are publicly documented but designed primarily for industry-specific data exchange. Open geospatial standards offer broader compatibility:

  • GeoPackage files work with any GIS software
  • GeoJSON enables web-based visualization
  • OGC standards have broad international support
  • Access to the entire geospatial computing ecosystem
  1. Start small: Use open-source tools for specific tasks (visualization, format conversion)
  2. Parallel workflows: Run alongside traditional methods for validation
  3. Export to open formats: Ensure long-term data accessibility
  4. Join communities: Learn from global user communities

Open-source and open standards align with engineering principles of transparency, peer review, and continuous improvement. For geotechnical engineering, they offer a path toward more integrated, flexible workflows in an increasingly data-driven industry.