[GRASS-dev] Re: [GRASS-user] Python scripts for the Pareto Boundary, tested using spearfish60 data [How to merge multiple python scripts in one?]

[Glynn Clements]

Νίκος  	Αλεξανδρής wrote:

> > If you want to enable these flags throughout the script, you can use:
> > 
> > 	os.environ['GRASS_OVERWRITE'] = '1'	# --o
> > 	os.environ['GRASS_VERBOSE'] = '0'	# --q
> > 	os.environ['GRASS_VERBOSE'] = '3'	# --v
> > 
> > In general, it's best to leave these settings to the user.
> 
> Sometimes it is required to use them and prevent the user from _not_
> using e.g. the "--o" flag (I think... ?).

The presence or absence of --o should definitely be honoured.

Ideally, a script should try to use unique names for any temporary
maps it creates, so that it doesn't inadvertently overwrite the user's
maps (using "tmp" and the PID in the mapname is sufficient, e.g. 
mapname.tmp.<pid>; if the user gives their own maps such names,
tough).

Using overwrite=True to overwrite temporary maps created within the
script is okay, but the final output maps should honour the --o and
$GRASS_OVERWRITE settings, i.e. don't complain about overwriting maps
if --o is used, and don't overwrite maps if it wasn't.

The script shouldn't need to handle this explicitly. If the --o flag
was given, GRASS_OVERWRITE will have been set to "1" by grass.parser(),
and this will automatically be inherited by any child processes. The
only thing that the script needs to do is to *not* explicitly use
overwrite=True on any commands which create the final output maps, but
allow their overwrite behaviour be controlled by $GRASS_OVERWRITE.

> > If the user
> > runs the script with --o, --q, and/or --v, the corresponding
> > environment variables will be set by grass.parser(). If the user has
> > those variables set in their environment, the values will be inherited
> > by the script.
> > 
> > If you want to examine the settings use the overwrite() and/or
> > verbosity() functions in grass.script.
> 
> # note-to-self:
> # check functions overwrite(), verbosity() in grass.script

It's seldom necessary to check these explicitly. The settings will be
inherited by child processes, and if you use grass.message(),
grass.verbose(), etc for messages, whether or not the messages are
displayed depends upon the $GRASS_VERSBOSE setting.

> > If you do a lot of this, consider a utility function, e.g.:
> > 
> > 	def log(msg, **kwargs):
> > 		grass.message(string.Template(msg).substitute(**kwargs))
> 
> This is supposed to reduce typing effort, right?

Yes, although it may also make the code easier to read and modify.

-- 
Glynn Clements <glynn at gclements.plus.com>