Fwd: Re: [gdal-dev] FWTools and GDAL 1.7.0

[Jason Roberts]

Frank,

Thanks for your thoughts. Based on them, I'd recommend the following two
things be created.

1. GDAL windows installation program, or at minimum, a wiki page that says
how to install the GDAL libraries and utilities (executables and Python
scripts) to \Program Files\GDAL\... Perhaps a quick compromise would be for
Tamas's build system to produce a .zip that would have everything in a
suitable directory structure and for wiki page to instruct the user "just
unzip this to \Program Files\GDAL\...".

2. GDAL Python bindings installation program. This could be easily created
using the standard Python distutils stuff I've been mentioning, and would
install the bindings to the normal Python place. The bindings would ideally
be modified to check for and explicitly load libraries from \Program
Files\GDAL\... This would eliminate the need to modify the PATH variable.

A Windows Python programmer would just install those two things and they're
done. No questions about what goes where. No need to set any environment
variables.

People like me who embed GDAL in their own application would now have a new
alternative: rather than including GDAL libraries we could instruct the user
to download an official GDAL build and install it, and then just use it from
there.

What do you think?

Jason

-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Warmerdam [mailto:warmerdam at pobox.com] 
Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2011 5:49 PM
To: Jason Roberts
Cc: gdal-dev at lists.osgeo.org
Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: [gdal-dev] FWTools and GDAL 1.7.0

On 11-01-06 05:10 PM, Jason Roberts wrote:
> Frank,
>
> Thanks for sharing your opinion. I do have one question that I hope you
will
> weigh in on. Which of the following two options seems better to you:
>
> 1. The GDAL libraries (possibly accompanied with executable programs) are
> installed as a separately from the GDAL Python bindings. The libraries are
> installed to \Program Files as you describe and the Python bindings are
> installed in the standard Python location. A Windows Python programmer
> wanting to use GDAL would perform two installs: one for the GDAL
libraries,
> the other for the bindings.
>
> 2. The GDAL Python bindings include a private copy of the GDAL libraries
> (with no executable programs). These are installed to a private
subdirectory
> with the bindings. A Windows Python programmer wanting to use GDAL only
> needs to perform one install: the bindings.
>
> #1 is essentially how things are done now, just not following Windows best
> practices (not using \Program files) and without any automation to ease
the
> process (no regularly maintained installer for the Python bindings).
>
> I was proposing #2, basically under the argument that a Windows Python
> programmer who needs to use GDAL will rarely ever need to use GDAL for
some
> other purpose, and therefore not want to install and think about a
separate
> installation of the GDAL libraries themselves. But if you don't believe
> that, or think it is important that the libraries remain distinct from the
> bindings in this scenario for some other reason, then we would appreciate
> your opinion.

Jason,

I don't have a strong position on this, but I would note that beyond
real Python programmers wanting to use the bindings, they are also needed
just to run the python commandline utilities (such as rgb2pct.py).  So
there is definately a large body of folks who would benefit from having
working python for the python utilities, and the regular commandline
executables.

Another benefit of even Python using GDAL from a standard location is
things like format plugins could be easily handled in one place.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I prefer even the Python
bindings to use the GDAL under \Program Files\GDAL.

If the Pythonistas really want to have their own copy of GDAL then
we really don't need to have this conversation.  They can do their
own thing, in their own place and there is no need for meaningful
cooperation with the core project.

Best regards,
-- 
---------------------------------------+------------------------------------
--
I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam,
warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | Geospatial Programmer for Rent