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<p>Randal, All,<br>
</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up on QGIS 3.4. I downloaded it a few days
ago. Installed with zero bumps, zero configuration, and it runs
great. The version I was using was 2.18 LTR (Las Palmas), so this
is a <i>major </i>upgrade. (And I thought Las Palmas was
terrific!)<br>
</p>
<p>Version 3.0 (staring 2018) brings Qt5 and <b>Python 3.</b> Then
there were minor releases after that bringing it to 3.4 LTR. Very
impressive new features and functionality, and awesome
cartography! (See <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://gisgeography.com/qgis-3/">https://gisgeography.com/qgis-3/</a>.) Can't beat
the price: <b>free</b>. <br>
</p>
<p>I'm a sporadic user of GIS for analytical projects vs. a
day-in-day-out mapper. The UI on QGIS remains quite smooth and
consistent through version changes. You can be away from it for a
few months, come back <i>and it still feels familiar.</i> The
developer group really focused on <i>usability</i>, and it shows.
<br>
</p>
***<br>
<p>Generally I find grinding relational table data is best done
early, and with other tools, outside of a GIS. I sequence in the
geo components and geo processing later, well after the relational
and other data has been thoroughly transformed. QGIS works great
for me. <br>
</p>
<p>For people doing one-off analytics out there, involving mashups
from various and sundry data sources, what software do you prefer
to "<i>mechanize</i>" your<b> Extract/Transform/Load</b> (<b>ETL</b>)
functions?</p>
<blockquote>
<p><b>Excel </b>(Data Connections, PowerQuery, PowerPivot, Data
Model, DAX functions, M language, "Get & Transform",
"PowerBI", etc. )</p>
<p><b>Talend Open Studio </b>(free/open source, 900
connections/transforms supplied in a library you string
together)<b><br>
</b><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/talend-studio/">https://sourceforge.net/projects/talend-studio/</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://community.talend.com/">https://community.talend.com/</a></p>
<p><b>Just use a SQL database</b> with connectors and one-off hand
code for the rest<br>
using scripting (Python, VBA, Javascript)<br>
using traditional languages (C++, Java)<br>
using some functional language (OCaml, F, Haskel...) <br>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Any opinion on any of those, or any other packages you use for
ETL, most appreciated!<br>
</p>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Rick<br>
</p>
--
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">Richard J. Labs, CFA, CPA
CL&B Capital Management, LLC
Phone: 315-637-0915
E-mail (preferred for efficiency): <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:rick@clbcm.com">rick@clbcm.com</a>
</pre>
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