[OSGeo-Discuss] Whitebox GAT v. 3.2.0 released

[John Lindsay]

Hello,

We are pleased to announce the release of the open-source GIS Whitebox Geospatial Analysis Tools 3.2.0 (http://www.uoguelph.ca/~hydrogeo/Whitebox/index.html). Whitebox now contains over 370 tools for performing advanced geospatial analysis. This version targets Java 8 and will require users to update their Java Runtime. Other changes include:

-Added a ClusterAttribute tool that performs k-means clustering on a selected group of attributes associated with a vector file.
-Added zoom to selection for vector layers.
-Added a Clip tool for vector clipping operations. I know, why has it taken this long?
-Added floating point line thicknesses and changed the default line thickness to 0.75. This has greatly improved the cartographic output of Whitebox.
-Added Export Table to CSV tool.
-Added Hack Stream Ordering and Topological Stream Ordering tools.
-Added Total Length of Upstream Channels tool.
-Added Furtherest Upstream Channel Head Distance tool.
-Added the Attribute Histogram tool for create histograms based on numeric data contained in a shapefile's attribute table as well as the Attribute Scattergram tool.
-Vectors can now be displayed with a palette rendered based on a boolean attribute.
-Added palette nonlinearity for vectors with a scaled palette.
-Fixed the raster-to-vector polygon conversion to include polygon holes.
-Modified the minimum bounding box tool, and all related tools (e.g. elongation ratio, long axis, short axis) to use an analytical solution for finding the MBB.
-Added a link to the Whitebox blog (http://whiteboxgeospatial.wordpress.com) in the help menu.
-Added the Vector Attribute Gridding tool, which can be used to interpolate the spatial pattern of average values of an attribute of vector features onto a raster grid. It essentially can be used to answer the question, of the vector features (points, lines, or polygons) within the a local neighbourhood, what is the average value of some attribute? This can be quite handy for visualizing patterns.
-Added the Vector Feature Density tool, which is similar to the Vector Attribute Gridding tool but works to map the spatial pattern of feature density (how many vector features are within a local neighbourhood?).
-Added the ability to rotate map titles. I know this isn't a proper labelling system yet, but I'm working on it. Hopefully map labels will be added this summer.

Please report any issues that you encounter as a result of this upgrade using the Whitebox menu, Help -> Report An Error.

Whitebox GAT is an example of an 'open-access GIS'. The concept of open-access software is based on the idea that software should be designed in a way that reduces the barriers that often discourage or disallow end-users from examining the algorithm design and implementation associated with specific geospatial tools. That is, open-access software encourages the educational opportunities gained by direct inspection of code. For more information see the link below:

http://whiteboxgeospatial.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/gisruk-2014-glasgow/

As always, I hope you enjoy this new release and happy geoprocessing!


Regards,

John Lindsay, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Department of Geography, University of Guelph
Guelph, Ont. N1G 2W1   CANADA
Phone: (519) 824-4120 x56074
Fax: (519) 837-2940
Email:  jlindsay at uoguelph.ca
Department Web: http://www.uoguelph.ca/geography/people/faculty/lindsay.shtml
Whitebox GAT Web: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~hydrogeo/Whitebox/index.html