gvSIG, geographic information system (GIS), is a desktop application designed for capturing, storing, handling, analyzing and deploying any kind of referenced geographic information in order to solve complex management and planning problems. gvSIG is known for having a user-friendly interface, being able to access the most common formats, both vector and raster ones. It features a wide range of tools for working with geographic-like information (query tools, layout creation, geoprocessing, networks, etc.). Integrating in the same view both local (files, databases) and remote data through OGC standards. Including a plugin system which allows to easily extend the application or to develop tailor-made solutions. Being open source software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), which allows its free use, distribution, study and improvement. Being available in several languages: Spanish, English UK, English USA, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Portuguese-Brazilian, Russian, Chinese, Serbian, Swahili, Turkish, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Greek, Basque, Valencian/Catalan, Galician. Being developed using Java, and being available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X platforms Nomenclature gvSIG was initially developed for the Generalitat Valenciana (gv), an institution of the self-governed autonomous community of Valencia. This explains the abbreviation gvSIG for which the last three letters stands for Sistema d'informació geogràfica (SIG), or GIS in English. Features gvSIG Desktop Typical tools in a full-fledged desktop GIS client can also be found in gvSIG, among other things: Access to vector formats: SHP, DXF, GML, DWG, DGN, KML. Access to raster formats: BMP, GIF, TIFF, JPEG, JP2, PNG, VRT, DAT of ENVI, ERDAS (LAN, GIS, IMG), PCI Geomatics (PIX, AUX), ADF of ESRI, ILWIS (MPR, MPL), MAP of PC Raster, ASC, PGM, PPM, RST of IDRISI, RMF, NOS, KAP, HDR, RAW. Access to remote services: OGC (WMS, WFS, WCS, WFS-T, WPS), ArcIMS, Ecwp. Access to databases and tables: PostGIS, ArcSDE, JDBC, CSV. Display:zooms, panning, frames, locator. Query: information, area and distance measurement, hyperlink. Selection: by point, by rectangle, by polygon, by layer, by polyline, by circle, by buffer zone, alphanumeric search, invert selection, delete selection. Searching: by attribute, by coordinates. Geoprocessing: buffer, intersection, clip, dissolve, union, convex hull, difference, merge, spatial join, XY shift, reprojection, Sextante geoprocessing. Graphical editing: add event layers, snapping, grid, flatness, command stack, undo/redo, copy, move, symmetry, rotate, scale, edit vertex, internal polygon, matrix, explode, split, join, autocomplete polygon, insert point, multipoint, line, arc, polyline, polygon, rectangle, square, circle, ellipse. Alphanumeric editing: manage fields, edit registers, field calculator. Catalogue