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<TITLE> Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] C++ library for "gridding"</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>This will be interesting to follow. First a question, then a couple things to consider with respect to the GUI. <BR>
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Will this new API be accessible from the wxPython (wxWidget) GUI platform?<BR>
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With respect to a GUI, one of the great things about open source is that you can adapt the code in many ways. However, you might want to also catch up on the extensive GUI discussions that we’ve had over the past year. A long thread beginning about a year ago, and continuing over several months focused on the design specifications for a next generation GUI for GRASS. A follow up thread discussed the advantages and disadvantages of available GUI platforms from the standpoint of interface potential, useability, cross-platform support, and code maintainability within the GRASS user/developer community. A couple items are worth summarizing.<BR>
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First, just because ArcGIS has a very large commercial market share doesn’t mean that it has the best UI or that an open source project can’t create a better UI for GIS. There was considerable consensus around a number of features that many of the GRASS community felt were essential in a UI but which are lacking in ArcGIS (e.g., a CLI, efficient use of screen real estate with a single control for multiple windows) and more diversity about other design specs (tightly or loosely coupled 3D visualization and cartographic capabilities).<BR>
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The second is that QT and wxWidgets emerged as the leading GUI design platforms. Of these, wxPython (Python implementation of wxWidgets) garnered the most support because it is easier to develop in and more members of the GRASS community have programming skills that can support it. Relatively few people are QT experts, but many more people in the GRASS world have Python experience.<BR>
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Many of the initial GUI design specs have been implemented in the current TclTk interface in order to test and refine this design. Others will require a GUI platform with capabilities beyond TclTk. A wxPython GUI is already present in the CVS in prototype test form and is actively being developed. You might want to take a look at these to see where they are at and whether (and how) they might interact with you new libraries. <BR>
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Michael<BR>
__________________________________________<BR>
Michael Barton, Professor of Anthropology<BR>
School of Human Evolution & Social Change <BR>
Center for Social Dynamics & Complexity<BR>
Arizona State University<BR>
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phone: 480-965-6213<BR>
fax: 480-965-7671<BR>
www: <a href="http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton">http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton</a> <BR>
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<B>From: </B><discuss-digest-help@mail.osgeo.org><BR>
<B>Reply-To: </B><discuss-digest@mail.osgeo.org><BR>
<B>Date: </B>24 Oct 2006 01:40:30 -0000<BR>
<B>To: </B><discuss@mail.osgeo.org><BR>
<B>Subject: </B>discuss Digest 24 Oct 2006 01:40:30 -0000 Issue 120<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'><B>From: </B><<FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><U>chenrg@lreis.ac.cn</U></FONT>><BR>
<B>Date: </B>Mon, 23 Oct 2006 09:57:20 +0800<BR>
<B>To: </B>Song <<FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><U>xfsong@gucas.ac.cn</U></FONT>>, <<FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><U>discuss@mail.osgeo.org</U></FONT>><BR>
<B>Subject: </B>Re: Re: [Fwd: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] C++ library for "gridding"]<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Monaco, Courier New"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10.0px'>Hi, all,<BR>
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I had 2 days out at the weekend. Thank you for your attention. I'd like to say, we just started the work,and the initial tech docs were in chinese. I'll try to explain what we'll do for the project.<BR>
We're working on the current CVS-HEAD (GRASS 6.3). A new directory called API was added to the main directory of GRASS. The high-level APIs will be based on the files of GRASS commands. and will form 7 new dynamic libraries (.so for linux, and .dll for windows), which will be updated along with GRASS CVS. The ArcGIS-like GUI will call these APIs for data processing. The work will join grass cvs once some progress made. <BR>
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Regards<BR>
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Chen<BR>
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