[GRASS-dev] gis.m improvements

[Trevor Wiens]

On Mon, 8 May 2006 12:32:34 +1200
Hamish <hamish_nospam at yahoo.com> wrote:

> > 6. There should be a menu entry "Layers" in the menu bar, right
> > next to "File" in which the user can find all functions that
> > are currently only reachable via icons:
> > 
> > Layers
> 
> 
> I will second the earier comments that having both "layers" used for GUI
> map layers and the existing vector/table layers is highly confusing and
> should be avoided if possible. Please find another word...?
> 

The normal term for the different raster and vector components to a
map is layers. It is the standard abstraction used in GIS software
and drawing programs.  The use of the term layers for vector file links
to attribute tables should not be layers as I've pointed out before and
will continue to do so. It seems impossible to remove this confusing
naming because it is an OGC standard so the fact that it is wrong
doesn't seem to matter. Thus as I see it there are two options. 

One, continue to use layer in the GUI in the normal fashion and
modify the use of layers in reference to vector attribute linkages
using a term like "virtual layers", which will contain enough reference
to the OGC terminology to provide a link but still distinguishes from
the normal use of the term. Note, I would normally run away screaming
from the suggestion to use the word virtual in naming anything, but in
this context, it just might work.

Two, change to a different term in the GUI rather than layers and
further add to the confusion of terminology in GRASS, making it even
more inaccessible to naive users. Since one of the main goals of this
GUI revamp was to increase accessibility, I think this is not an option.

T
-- 
Trevor Wiens 
twiens at interbaun.com

The significant problems that we face cannot be solved at the same 
level of thinking we were at when we created them. 
(Albert Einstein)