NGI0 grant for osm2pgsql

The amount of data in OSM is climbing continually, and therefore the memory and disk requirements of osm2pgsql have risen as well. To address this issue we have applied for and won a grant from the NGI0 Commons Fund. In this project we want to reduce the memory and disk usage of osm2pgsql by implementing more efficient storage formats, specifically for “intermediate” data used while processing, often called the “middle”. We are tentatively calling this CODA, the Compact OpenStreetMap Data Archive. This will not only help with resource consumption on the community-run OSM servers, but also enable wider use of OSM data, even on planet-scale, in low-resource environments available to small NGOs or to students.

Long-time osm2pgsql developer Jochen Topf will be funded to work on this project for the next year or so. Progress and all the details will be published on the project’s webpage.

This project is funded through the NGI0 Commons Fund, a fund established by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet programme, under the aegis of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement No 101135429. Additional funding is made available by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).