[GRASS5] New USGS DEM data format

[Rich Shepard]

On Wed, 1 Aug 2001, Eric G. Miller wrote:

> I couldn't find anything about changes to the SDTS format since 1999 at
> the SDTS website (last standard extension for raster profiles).  I think
> the format change might be meters --> decimeters thing???  If they made
> other significant changes that are not conforming to the standard, then
> they really shouldn't call it SDTS anymore!

Eric,

  Yes. I think that you hit it correctly. From the article, I understood
that the change to "decimal meters" broke most commercial/Windows-hosted
software. Why, I've no idea, but there it is.

> v.in.sdts is in GRASS 5 and works (I've used it) -- It's in
> src.contrib/SDTS/ and uses the FIPS123 library (for ISO 8211 format
> reading).  As noted, r.in.gdal seems to work okay (though it didn't read
> the projection info for me when I tested it yesterday).  r.in.gdal
> doesn't give you access to all the metadata info like v.in.sdts will --
> but there is m.sdts.read which is a generic ISO 8211 to text reader
> (works well).

  So, what module do you recommend that I use to import the 9 DEMs from SDTS
format? I've been using r.in.gdal because that worked for me. FWIW, I'm
fascinated by what I'm learning about GRASS by running these modules. The
absolute dependence on having specific files, with specific content, in
specific places is a new experience for me, but I've learned how to handle
it gracefully.

  I've not tried importing vector data from SDTS format; so far, only the
DEMS. And, if you know of 1:24k vector data for transportation, hydrography,
or hypsography for the Western U.S., please do tell me where to find it!

Thanks,

Rich

Dr. Richard B. Shepard, President

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