Potlatch (software)

Last updated
Potlatch
Developer(s) Richard Fairhurst
Stable release
3.0 / December 30, 2020 (2020-12-30)
Repository
Written in ActionScript
Platform Adobe AIR
Available in94 languages
Type GIS software
License WTFPL
Website www.systemed.net/potlatch/

Potlatch is a free software editing tool for OpenStreetMap geodata using Adobe AIR. For many years embedded directly within the OpenStreetMap website using Adobe Flash, it was rebuilt as a desktop application following the end-of-lifing of Flash. It continues to be actively maintained.

Contents

History

Potlatch 1 was released mid 2006 and was the default editor on the main OpenStreetMap site until it was replaced by Potlatch 2 in April 2011. The name Potlatch came from the name of newsletter of the Lettrist International art collective. [1]

An alpha version of Potlatch 2, a complete reimplementation of the software, was published in summer 2010. In December 2010, Potlatch 2 was released for general use. [2] After Microsoft had granted OpenStreetMap permission to use aerial imagery from their Bing Maps service for tracing, Potlatch 2 was extended to display these images in the background.

Tim Berners-Lee demonstrated editing OpenStreetMap using Potlatch during his TED The next web talk in 2009. [3]

In 2020, the OpenStreetMap Foundation provided €2,500 funding for Potlatch to be ported to Adobe AIR, so that it could continue to run as a desktop application for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh after Flash was disabled in web browsers. The desktop version was subsequently released as Potlatch 3.

iD began as a reimplementation of Potlatch 2 architecture in JavaScript. [1] [4] [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 Fairhurst, Richard (14 October 2012). "It all starts with an editor". Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  2. Sebayang, Andreas (6 April 2011). "Potlatch 2: OpenStreetMap-Editor beschleunigt" [Potlatch 2: OpenStreetMap editor accelerated]. Golem.de (in German). Computec Media GmbH. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  3. Berners-Lee, Tim. "The next web". www.ted.com. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  4. MacWright, Tom. "iD Updates". MapBox. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  5. Dubowy, Liane M. (6 February 2013). "Neuer Editor für OpenStreetMap" [New editor for OpenStreetMap]. heise online (in German). Heise Gruppe GmbH & Co. KG. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.

Further reading