FAQ

General

Why did DMSG open source the core of Fusion?

DM Solutions Group has advocated open source since the company’s inception in 1998. Applying open source to the core of Fusion made sense for the following reasons:

• It is more efficient to collaborate on the core with the community.
• It allows us to focus on introducing value-added components and building and supporting solutions for customers and partners
• Technology remains closer in sync to overall MapGuide and MapServer development, and this relationship reduces risk for customers.

Where can I get Fusion?

Even though Fusion is not a recognized project of OSGeo, Fusion is hosted on the OSGeo infrastructure (http://trac.osgeo.org/fusion).

Is Fusion an official OSGeo Project?

No. The Fusion project will likely seek incubation into OSGeo when it has established a working community and is likely to pass incubation.

Does Fusion replace MapGuide OS or MapServer?

Fusion sits on top of each mapping engine. Fusion handles the user interface between the client and MapGuide OS or MapServer.

Is Fusion open source?

Yes. Fusion provides a platform for extending the core functionality of the framework. The additional functionality may or may not be open source, depending on the author.

Does Fusion work with other mapping engines?

Fusion currently works with MapGuide Open Source and MapServer.

What kind of license does Fusion have?

Fusion is released under the MIT license. A copy of the license is distributed with Fusion. For further information you can go to (​http://www.opensource.org/licenses/).

How much does Fusion cost?

The Fusion core is free to use and distribute according to the MIT license.

What operating systems does Fusion work on?

Fusion is operating system agnostic. The Fusion framework is built largely in JavaScript and PHP, both of which run on Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX.

What browsers does Fusion work in?

Fusion works in all major browsers: Internet Explorer (6+), FireFox (2) and Safari 3. It may work in other browsers but your mileage will vary. If you are interested in making it work in your favorite browser, please become involved and contribute to the project.

Does Fusion require any plug-ins or !ActiveX controls?

Fusion requires no plug-ins or proprietary technologies.

What data formats are compatible with Fusion?

Fusion supports all data sources served by MapGuide Open Source and MapServer.

What web servers are compatible with Fusion?

Fusion works with IIS and Apache. Fusion may work with other web servers if they support PHP and MapServer or MapGuide OS.

What functionality comes with Fusion?

Fusion is bundled with many of the typical functions you’d expect from a web-mapping framework. Fusion includes navigation widgets (e.g., zoom in, zoom out, pan, etc.), legend controls (e.g., view, layer management, etc.), GUI widgets (e.g., buttons, menus, tree views, panels, dialogs, etc.), and many more. For a complete list, please see the Fusion documentation.

What technologies is Fusion based on?

The Fusion core and widget library are built in JavaScript. Fusion uses several open source libraries for specific portions of the code base. For instance, Fusion incorporates Prototype because Prototype handles objects efficiently. The Fusion documentation describes all libraries that the framework uses. Also, some dependencies on PHP for server-side processing are accessed via AJAX.

Who built Fusion?

DM Solutions Group Inc. built Fusion. Ongoing maintenance of the project is shared by a number of parties.

I found a bug—who do I tell?

Issues, bugs, documentation errors, etc. can be reported via the Fusion project page at OSGeo (http://trac.osgeo.org/fusion/wiki/FilingBugs).

What programming skills are required to work with Fusion?

Basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills are required to manipulate Fusion beyond the basic templates provided with the download package. Much of the functionality required to build rich web-mapping applications has already been created; developers, designers, and general web enthusiasts can fashion these snippets of code to suit their style requirements.