Opticks Developer Guide/Overview

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Opticks supports processing almost any type of remote sensing data and makes adding capability easy. Using the plug-in architecture and public interface, you can quickly add your own processing algorithms or support for new types of remote sensing data. The plug-in architecture and public interface enable hundreds of developers to extend the capabilities of Opticks while minimizing conflicts. Opticks is also open source and licensed under LGPL 2.1. This means you can easily extend Opticks functionality, provide the capability to the open source community, or even embed it in your commercial application.

Opticks development features:

  • Extensive API. Hundreds of classes with hyper-linked documentation. See the Opticks 4.1.1 API.
  • LGPL v2.1 license. This license allows any plug-ins that you write to be placed under your own license, be it a commercial or open-source.
  • Large development community. Over a hundred developers and twenty organizations are already developing with Opticks.
  • Native Opticks functionality built using the public API. Over 150 plug-ins included in the core software.
  • Software development help using the developer mailing list and mailing list archives. Ask questions of the project team members and get your development questions answered.
  • Access to the full source code. Access to the Opticks source code isn't necessary to start building your own plug-ins. However, the source code is available if you want to extend the core capability or need help understanding Opticks. The source code is available on the downloads page.

Visit the Opticks site for more information: http://www.opticks.org