[GRASS-dev] Google Summer of Code 2008

[Wolf Bergenheim]

On 03/09/2008 03:25 AM, Hamish wrote:
> Wolf Bergenheim wrote:
>> * displaced symbols.
>>    Create a module to place map symbols on a map, so that the
>>    feature and other overlap information is minimized (NP-Complete
>>    problem). The map symbol should be referenced to their original
>>    location, by using a reference line.
> 
> I don't quite understand what you mean by map symbol. Automatic
> placement for legends, north arrows, and scale bars? (Seems reasonable,
> even if I'm not sure I'd ever use it personally)
> 
> Or for 'd.vect type=point icon=symbol_class/symbol_name'? (I don't
> think we should be perturbing spatially referenced markers)

I mean icons for point-symbols, the idea of the module would be to have 
these icons displayed in such a way that they don't overlap, say if you 
have 5 layers, on for churches, one for schools, one for restaurants, 
etc, at some point these icons might overlap, if they are too close to 
each other.  Also optionally if you have a map of a city you probably 
don't want to place the symbol so that it obstructs say an complicated 
crossing. This is perhaps a bit too much focused on mapping for GRASS, 
but it was just an idea...

>> * Create new symbol file and add support for it to the GUI and a
>>    d.icon command, and to the PS driver.
> 
> Again, I'm not quite following what this is about.

Basically the same thing, but support for ps.map, like labels.

> 
> see d.graph, and "d.stations" + "d.mark" in the wiki addons, and
>   http://grass.gdf-hannover.de/wiki/IconSymbols
> 

Yeah, I just feel it would be nice to be able to support icons in any 
format, or at least provide tools to convert common icon formats to 
something that GRASS can use.

>> * Support native GRASS symbols, png, svg and others. Support
>> specifying symbol in the database for each feature.
> 
> see the .eps note at the end of the d.graph help page, and note that
> ps.map already supports .eps symbols; AFAIR "svg2eps" may be done from
> directly from the command line with inkscape's command line options.

Also in the GUI display window, or else maybe create a GUI for ps.map ;)

>  
>> Uniforming the vector modules:
>> * Vector 3D support. Make all vector modules work in 3D space.
>> * Add where= and cats= to as many modules as possible, where
>> reasonable (also see ml discussion on this)
> 
> it would be good to write down exactly which modules are involved.
> "all" will not be appropriate.
> 
> I see this more of a chore than an interesting new project challenge.

You might see is as a chore, whereas some student might see it as fun. ;)

The idea with the ideas on the ideas page is to give some sort of 
indication to the student what we would expect from an application. They 
are not, and should not be complete SoC applications. It is the 
responsibility of the Student to work them into an actual SoC 
application, which is interesting enough to be accepted.

> 
>> * Improved line of sight (Paul Kelly's proposal from last year)
> Yes please
> 
>> * 3D Vector line of sight (related)
> example of how/when this would be used?

We have a city of buildings and want to see where we should put our 
towers. This is something Markus mentioned to me in passing. Markus 
perhaps you can elaborate.

>  
>> * wxGui Graphical colour and interval and category selections. This 
>> would create a file which could be used in r.reclass, r.colors and 
>> friends. Maybe a similar tool for the vector equivalent?
> 
> how does this releate to the new thematic tools?

Perhaps these interval files could be used as well? I'm not too familiar 
with the new thematic tools... :(

> 
>> * raster db connections. The raster category value would be a cat in
>> a database. Introduce maybe a new kind of map otherwise identical to
>> an INT map, but the values should be treated as DB cat id's.
>> * is this at all feasible?
> 
> example of how/when this would be used?
Say you have a raster map of anything and want to be able to store more 
then one piece of information for each pixel. So in essence the pixel 
value would be the key to the table. See ARCGis for more uses ;)

> 
>> * Expand v.generalize with new methods (e.g merging, exaggeration, 
>> collapse, displacement, point aggregation)
> 
> a big enough project?

I think so yes. Last year it was a good project. This year it could be 
extended with more methods to complete out generalization support.

> 
>> * create an SQL query builder tool to help build sql queries, if
>> enough time add PostGIS queries [cooperation with PostGIS]
> 
> interesting.
> 

>> * rewrite v.buffer / v.parallel
> 
> yes please.

:D I'd also love to see this be realized.

> 
>> * reimplement v.delauny (also possibly by going via some other data 
>> structure)
> 
> has it been established that the method is bad? I do not remember
> seeing anything which would suggest that problems could not be solved
> with some small bug fixing, in which case it would be silly to throw
> the whole thing away and start a new module.

There was some email about it, where someone concluded that it should be 
rewritten. Search the archives. ;)

  >> * v.out.odg To create OO draw files (we could maybe collaborate with
>> OO.o on this one, e.g. one mentor form each organisation)
> 
> wouldn't it be better to go for something more generic, like improving
> the postscript dispaly driver? (probably as part of GRASS 7)

As you've probably figured out I'd love to see a simpler tool to create 
maps in GRASS, preferably a snazzy GUI.

> 
>> * I've heard many complaints about GRASS lacking a Krigin module. One
>> of these ideas could fix that (maybe both)
>> * gstat GUI (would create gstat files, run gstat, and provide a GUI
>> for all file editing tasks)
>> 	* The same except would create an R script.
> 
> this is related to the R integration threads.
Yes.

> 
> maybe we could trawl through wishes in the bug trackers for more
> ideas..
> 
Please do!

Also I'd like to point out that we should start getting out a list of 
ideas ASAP, the students will start reading our pages on the 17th.

--Wolf

-- 

<:3 )---- Wolf Bergenheim ----( 8:>