[Gdal-dev] Do I need to write adriver with that?

[Frank Warmerdam]

Oliver Eichler wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I like to convert some raster map data from a proprietary format to
> something more open minded. Browsing the GDAL API doc it looks like I have
> to write a driver to do so. If I understood the tutorial correctly, I have
> to patch the GDAL lib to do so. Isn't there an easier way to copy the image
> data / color table to some GDAL structure and to save it in what ever format
> GDAL supports?

Oliver,

A lot depends on the nature of the source data.  If the image data is
regularly laid out on disk, it may be sufficient to write one of the
various "raw header" files such as the .aux for the PAux driver.

If you need to use code to read your source file (compressed,oddly
laied out, etc) then you will have to do more.  It could be a small
standalone utility that writes out some GDAL compatible format (such
as raw+header) or you could implement a driver within GDAL.  In part
it depends on how seamlessly you want the format to work with GDAL
applications.  If a one time translation is all that is needed writing
a proper GDAL driver would likely be overkill.

Best regards,

-- 
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