GeoDMS (‘Geo Data Model Server’) is an open-source software developed by ObjectVision that is very well-suited for managing and modelling large quantities of data. They are using it themselves for some pretty cool projects, see the gallery on the link above. It is the technical basis of large land-use modelling projects such as Land-Use Scanner and LUISA. Since 2008 I have used GeoDMS almost exclusively for the modelling work I have been involved in. I have used it myself to calculate travel times (here and here), compute accessibility values, generate public transport travel time matrices, develop transport models and simulate transport network expansion. If you are interested, GeoDMS can be downloaded via this link.
GeoDMS is an incredibly powerful tool, but even for those that have some experience in GIS programming it can be quite challlenging to start using it. The guys from ObjectVision have written an extensive manual for the software right here. While trying to teach the basics of the software, I found that the software needs a simple step-by-step explanation to get users started. Although I am not a big fan of ESRI’s ArcGIS suite, I have always admired their teaching material: that usually consists of very clear, step-by-step exercises that help make students feel at ease with the software. The GeoDMS community could surely use similar teaching material. For that reason I am currently writing an extended manual for GeoDMS. I am going to use this part of the website to add information, sample code and instructive movies for all you eager GeoDMS students.