[GRASS-SVN] r38754 - grass-web/trunk/announces

Sun Aug 16 10:01:26 EDT 2009

Author: hamish
Date: 2009-08-16 10:01:25 -0400 (Sun, 16 Aug 2009)
New Revision: 38754

Modified:
   grass-web/trunk/announces/announce_grass640.html
Log:
further lofty prose

Modified: grass-web/trunk/announces/announce_grass640.html
===================================================================

--- grass-web/trunk/announces/announce_grass640.html	2009-08-16 09:28:19 UTC (rev 38753)
+++ grass-web/trunk/announces/announce_grass640.html	2009-08-16 14:01:25 UTC (rev 38754)
@@ -23,46 +23,48 @@
 </center>
 <BR>
 
-We are happy to announce the latest release of
- <a href="http://grass.osgeo.org">GRASS GIS</a>, the first stable release
-with new features since GRASS 6.2 first arrived in October 2006.
+We are pleased to announce the release of
+ <a href="http://grass.osgeo.org">GRASS GIS 6.4.0</a>, the first in the
+new line of 6.4.x stable releases. As a stable release 6.4 will enjoy
+long term support including a series of planned bugfix-only releases.
+Due to our conservative stabilization policy this is the first official
+version of GRASS to introduce new features since October 2006 and
+supersedes the previous stable line of GRASS 6.2. As such the
+floodgates are open and there are many new features to explore and
+many new structural improvements to be found in the software. GRASS has
+now been translated into twenty languages and supports a huge array of
+data formats.
 
 <P>
-Officially this is a "technology preview" release, the first beta on the
-path to GRASS 6.4-stable, and it also marks the start of work on GRASS 7.
-As such GRASS 6.3.0 is not intended to be a stable release with ongoing
-support, but after five months of quality-assurance review we are very
-pleased with the results. Users can be confident to use this version for
-their day to day work, indeed due to the open development model many
-already do.
+GRASS 6.4 brings a number of exciting enhancements to the GIS. First and
+foremost our new wxPython user interface is debuted, Python is now a
+fully supported scripting language, and for the first time since its
+inception with a port from the VAX 11/780 in 1983, GRASS will now run
+natively on a non-UNIX based platform: MS-Windows.
 
 <P>
-Besides the hundreds of new module features, supported data formats, and
-language translations, GRASS 6.4 brings a number of exciting enhancements
-to the GIS. A prototype of the new wxPython user interface is debuted, and
-for the first time since its inception with a port from the VAX 11/780 in
-1983, GRASS will run on a non-UNIX based platform: MS-Windows. This is
-currently still in an experimental state and we hope that widespread
-testing of 6.3.0 will mean the 6.4 release of WinGRASS will be fully
-functional and robust. Existing UNIX and Mac users will be happy to
-know that these new features do not disrupt the base GIS which remains
-as solid as ever and fully backwards compatible with earlier GRASS 6.0
-and GRASS 6.2 releases.
+In addition to bringing the software to a host of new users, the ability
+to run GRASS on any common computer platform furthers our goal of open
+access to the software. We hope you will enjoy the ability to use this
+program on the systems that are most convenient to you and your work.
 
 <P>
-Several infrastructure changes accompany this release with the project
-becoming a founding member of the <a href="http://www.osgeo.org/">Open
-Source Geospatial Foundation</a> (OSGeo).
-This includes a new home for the <a href="http://grass.osgeo.org">website</a>,
-the <a href="http://grass.osgeo.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wiki help system</a>,
-<a href="http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/browser/grass/trunk">source code repository</a>,
-community <a href="http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/browser/grass-addons">add-on
-module repository</a>,
-integrated <a href="http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/report">bug tracking system</a>,
-and formal membership for the project in a non-profit legal entity. We hope
-that these changes will guarantee that the GRASS community will be well
-supported and vibrant well into the future.
+Due to the freshness of <i>WinGrass</i> there may be some inevitable rough
+edges yet to discover, but we believe the foundation is solid and so any
+problems will mostly be surface layer bugs. We expect to have most of
+these will fixed for the upcoming 6.4.1 release. None the less, after
+nine months of dedicated quality-assurance review we are very pleased
+with the results. Users can be confident to use this version for their
+day to day work, indeed due to the open development model many already
+do. Existing UNIX and Mac users will be happy to know that these new
+features do not disrupt the base GIS which remains as solid as ever
+and fully backwards compatible with earlier GRASS 6.0 and 6.2 releases.
 
+<P>
+... meanwhile work continues on GRASS 7.
+
+
+
 <p>
 The <i>Geographic Resources Analysis Support System</i>, commonly referred to
 as GRASS, is a Geographic Information System (GIS) providing powerful raster,
@@ -73,19 +75,40 @@
 sophisticated presentation graphics and hardcopy maps.
 
 <P>
+GRASS is a foundation member of <a href="http://www.osgeo.org/">The Open
+Source Geospatial Foundation</a> (OSGeo), a non-profit legal entity which
+has enjoyed extraordinary growth. The GRASS software including community
+supplied add-on modules and toolboxes can be downloaded for free from the
+main GRASS website at
+ <a href="http://grass.osgeo.org">http://grass.osgeo.org</a>, or from many
+local mirrors worldwide. In addition to the extensive documentation which
+comes with the software, our
+<a href="http://grass.osgeo.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wiki help system</a>
+contains a wealth of user supplied tips and tricks.
+
+We expect that this formal infrastructure will guarantee that the GRASS
+community will be well supported and vibrant far into the future.
+
+<P>
 GRASS is currently used around the world in academic and commercial settings
 as well as by many governmental agencies and environmental consulting companies.
 It runs on a variety of popular hardware platforms and is Free open-source
 software released under the terms of the
 <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">GNU General Public License</a>.
 
+<P>
+GRASS users are encouraged to study, customize, extend, improve, and (if
+necessary) diagnose the inner workings of the program. We believe that
+scientific progress depends on the reproducibility of results, which in
+turn depends on the unhindered ability of the user to know, evaluate, and
+check all algorithms and methodologies used in the process of their work.
 
 
 <h3>Screenshots</h3>
 
 <ul>
 <li><a href="http://grass.osgeo.org/screenshots/index.php">Screenshots</a>
-of GRASS 6.4 in action
+of GRASS in action
 </ul>
 
 <h3>Platforms supported by GRASS</h3>
@@ -328,7 +351,7 @@
 For a complete list of commands available in GRASS 6.4.0 see the
 <a href="http://grass.osgeo.org/grass64/manuals/html64_user/index.html">online manuals</a>
 and the 
-<a href="http://grass.osgeo.org/gdp/grassmanuals/grass64_module_list.pdf">GRASS 6 module list</a>.
+<a href="http://grass.osgeo.org/gdp/grassmanuals/grass64_module_list.pdf">GRASS 6.4 module list</a>.
 </p>
 
 <p><BR><i>We are always looking for testers, code developers, and technical

