[OSGeo-Discuss] Is there an Open Source software applicationthatwill draw a graticule on a map?

[Brent Fraser]

Puneet,

  You're right; my goal is the 600dpi, 36 inch wide paper
cartography.  Basically, the kind of map you can produce in
an hour or two (with the appropriate software and a $5000 HP
plotter).  This I think should be within the scope of Open
Source GIS, while the pre-press/mass production/film writer
stuff is not (not enough demand?).

  So to focus my investigation I started the week with a
question: Using the Canadian federal government CanVec
topographic vectors, how close to creating a printed
National Topographic Map could I get using an Open Source
GUI-based desktop GIS application?

  The answers:
        From a programmer:    Pretty close. Look, the
contours are brown!
        From a cartographer:  Not close at all.  Where's the
graticule?!

(no offense meant to programmers or cartographers!)

Ahh, so much work to do...

Brent Fraser
GeoAnalytic Inc.
Calgary, Alberta

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "P Kishor" <punk.kish at gmail.com>
To: "OSGeo Discussions" <discuss at lists.osgeo.org>
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 1:19 PM
Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Is there an Open Source
software applicationthatwill draw a graticule on a map?


> Brent,
>
> I am not sure ArcView or its open source replacement can
produce the
> kind of stuff Markus has been producing (maybe it can,
just that I
> haven't seen any). Most, really, really good cartographic
output, the
> kind you can print at 1500 dpi on a Scitex printer at 8
feet by 20
> feet requires a helluva lot of work, and lots of planning.
If you pick
> up ESRI's map book, almost none of that stuff is produced
with ArcView
> and home laser printer. It is likely, however, that when
you say "high
> quality cartography," you are not referring to this kind
of stuff.
>
> Markus Neteler's stuff seemed to me of such beauty (raster
software
> does make for wonderful output) that it is something worth
trying to
> recreate. I am sure though that it is not point and click.
Best is to
> let Markus opine on this.
>
> On 9/7/07, Brent Fraser <bfraser at geoanalytic.com> wrote:
> > Puneet,
> >
> >   I'm hoping that (someday?) high quality cartography
WILL
> > be point-and-click.  The three apps I looked at come
pretty
> > close:
> >     uDig    - sophisticated, complicated GUI; focus on
GIS
> > not cartography
> >     QGIS    - simple GUI, a print composer, but features
> > (e.g. a real graticule) missing
> >     gvSIG   - look and feel of ArcView 3.x (the good and
the
> > bad), but no graticule
> >
> >
> >   I think Paul Ramsey said it best in the Directions Mag
> > interview
> >
(http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2517&tr
> > v=1):
> >
> > "The first project to produce a stable and complete
ArcView
> > 3 replacement will gobble up a huge user share, and
become
> > the default application for building the "high end"
analysis
> > and cartography functionality."
> >
> > Brent Fraser
> > GeoAnalytic Inc.
> > Calgary, Alberta
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "P Kishor" <punk.kish at gmail.com>
> > To: "OSGeo Discussions" <discuss at lists.osgeo.org>
> > Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 6:24 AM
> > Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Is there an Open Source
> > software application thatwill draw a graticule on a map?
> >
> >
> > > On 9/6/07, Brent Fraser <bfraser at geoanalytic.com>
wrote:
> > > ,,
> > > > Yikes!  Is National-Topographic-Series quality
> > cartography
> > > > dead?  Am I destined to print only pastel polygon
> > "diagrams"
> > > > on letter size paper if I adopt Open Source?  ;)
> > >
> > > Write an emai to Markus Neteler and ask him for
samples of
> > stuff he
> > > has produced with Grass, a real GIS. The quality will
blow
> > you away.
> > > Granted, I have not seen that stuff on a large piece
of
> > paper, but
> > > even on the screen, it looks gorgeous. It is probably
not
> > easy to
> > > produce that kind of stuff, but good quality stuff
never
> > is point and
> > > click.
> > >
> > > (MapServer is not a GIS... it says so on the box it
comes
> > in).
> > > >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Discuss mailing list
> > Discuss at lists.osgeo.org
> > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> >
>
>
> -- 
> Puneet Kishor
> http://punkish.eidesis.org/
> Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
> http://www.nelson.wisc.edu/
> Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo)
> http://www.osgeo.org/
> Summer 2007 S&T Policy Fellow, The National Academies
> http://www.nas.edu/
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.osgeo.org
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