[GRASS-dev] on the subject of toolboxes ...

Moritz Lennert mlennert at club.worldonline.be
Mon May 21 04:11:57 EDT 2012


On 20/05/12 03:51, Hamish wrote:
> Hi,
>
>
> before any work begins on this in earnest at the code sprint, I'd
> just like to reiterate my take on the toolbox idea. i.e., (and
> insofar as I understand the proposal as it exists!) any move towards
> splitting up GRASS's build system and distribution package(s) would
> be a really really huge mistake.


+1

> I would like to offer an alternate proposal which solves the same
> "new user confronted with an overwhelming 747 cockpit of controls"
> problem, but which does not splinter the core software.
>
> Namely, implement "views" in the wxGUI preferences section, with tick
> boxes where you can hide or show groups of modules as desired. A core
> set of common modules would always be ticked in a greyed-out box, and
> an "enable all" button would be present. Beyond that you can pick and
> choose.
>
> As our use cases vary widely, simply breaking up into "Core,
> Beginner, Advanced" is too simplistic, and rather a grouping based on
> keyword clusters (e.g. "remote sensing", "terrain analysis", ...)
> would be more useful..

+1

> In addition to that, I (and I suspect many of our users) spend a lot
> of time out in the field, days away from any internet connection.
> Even the most robust "Click here to install the missing component"
> just doesn't work out there.

Not just out in the field. We train people from countries where even
power is not a certainty, and internet more a question of chance, even
when they sit in their office.



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