[GRASSLIST:7431] Re: silly question?

[M S]

WOW.  many thanks.  thats a welth of info that should keep me busy and
quiet for a while... =D thanks1

On 7/3/05, Hamish <hamish_nospam at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > I've been an <GASP>  E$RI arc/info workstation user for 10+ years, and
> > i'm finally (successfully) jumping ship.  from what i read, i see,
> > GRASS can do everything workstation can, not to mention its
> > plug-ability with Quantum GIS and other open source software.
> >
> > Does anyone know if there has ever been a document created that is
> > somewhat of a HOWTO in a GRASS approach from a workstation mindset?
> ..
> > In other words, is there some document that illustrates tasks
> > performed in workstation with corrisponding commands document of how
> > to do the same procedures in GRASS?
> 
> 
> I remember someone talking about putting such a document together maybe 6
> months ago; you'd have to search the mailing list archive for it.
> 
> I seem to recall the discussion went something like "please document
> your progress and post your findings to the Wiki so that others might
> benefit from your journey." I don't know if that ever happened, but you
> might take up the same task. It is very hard for those without a ESRI
> background to know what the preconceived ways of doing things are. ie it
> needs to be done by someone in your shoes.
> 
> http://grass.gdf-hannover.de/twiki/bin/view/GRASS/WebHome
> 
> 
> One thing to realize is that GRASS was historically a raster based GIS
> while Arc was a vector based GIS. So GRASS's imagery and grid operations
> are very mature. Only with the latest release (6.0) has GRASS had a
> very strong vector engine too, so documentation and fine tuning for
> vectors is still just arriving weekly.
> 
> 
> > The biggest stumbling block for me was, believe it or not, setting up
> > the GISDBASE, LOCATION & MAPSET.  once i got that understood stuff
> > started falling into place for me.
> 
> 
> The hardest part of GRASS used to be installing it. Now this has moved
> on to being the opening screen. Progress!
> 
> 
> Some recommended reading:
> 
> "GRASS Quickstart" by M. Neteler  (in the GRASS help pages)
> http://grass.ibiblio.org/grass61/manuals/html61_user/helptext.html
> 
> 
> "Visual Tutorial for GRASS 6" by L. Moretti  (for non-UNIX people, GUI)
> http://wwwamb.bologna.enea.it/forgrass/documents/Grass-6-Visual-Tutorial.pdf
> 
> 
> "Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach. 2nd ed." by M. Neteler and
>   H. Mitasova  (Book; GRASS 5 but non-vector/sites chapters still valid)
> http://mpa.itc.it/grassbook2
> 
> 
> "An introduction to the practical use of the Free Geographical
>   Information System GRASS 6.0" by GDF Hannover
> http://www.gdf-hannover.de/lit_html/grass60_v1.1_en/
> 
> 
> More GRASS documentation and tutorials:
> http://grass.ibiblio.org/gdp/index.php
> 
> 
> > Also, is there a more thorough explanation of what v.digit can do other
> > than http://grass.itc.it/gdp/html_grass5/html/v.digit.html ?  v.digit
> > seems quite powerful, and i compare it to ArcEdit (by nature of being
> > schooled in the "workstation" approach to GIS).  I recognize i can and
> > should RTFM, but being so ingrained in that OTHER software's approach,
> > it often messes with my thought process, as i often try to relate
> > commands from one software's approach to another, which is probably
> > not the best thing to do.
> 
> It is poorly documented, perhaps the GDF Hannover guide covers it?
> It is very good for fixing broken nodes etc. Still many wishes & fine
> tuning need to be done before it will be a really strong program, but
> the base is there. As others have mentioned, QGIS+GRASS does well as a
> substitute.
> 
> 
> > some examples are:
> > digitizing/editing topologic vector data
> 
> v.digit or QGIS+GRASS
> 
> > rectifying images
> 
> i.points, i.target, i.rectify.  Or use gdalwarp from gdal.org
> 
> > working with GIS vector database attributes (i.e. table manipulation
> > and changing attributes)
> 
> see the various GRASS 6 tutorials, e.g. this one:
>   http://grass.gdf-hannover.de/twiki/bin/view/GRASS/GrassSixTutorial
> (I'm pretty sure there was more to that which hasn't been put in the Wiki
> yet??)
> 
> > overlaying vector data with attribute information
> 
>  - 'd.vect display=attr'
>  - v.label + d.paint.labels (improvements in active development)
> 
> > cut/fill operations
> 
>  - v.overlay, v.select, v.extract, et al.
>  - v.to.rast
>  - MASK raster maps and r.mapcalc
> 
> > cartographic operations for hardcopy maps
> 
>  - ps.map can make really nice output (once you learn how)
>  - export to GMT for journal quality figures
>   http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/
>   http://169.237.35.250/~dylan/grass_user_group/#GMT_and_GRASS-overview
> 
> 
> > Its probably a silly question.  But often times i find my self saying
> > "i know how to do this in workstation, I know GRASS can do this, but
> > how do i proceed?"
> 
> GRASS is very powerful at the low level, so with any task the
> functionality usually exists in GRASS, it's just a matter of figuring
> out how/where to look. Side effect of this is that one of GRASS's real
> strong points is its ability to run scripted.
> 
> > anyone else out there transition from that OTHER software company to
> > GRASS? and what was the best way you handled the migration?  I cant
> > totally throw out everything i know about workstation, but cause the
> > concepts are the same.  its the specific commands and methodology that
> > often have my head spinning...
> 
> Just takes time....
> 
> > cheers to all users and developers!  GRASS is an amazing piece of GIS
> > software!
> 
> I agree!
> 
> be sure to try NVIZ too.
> 
> 
> 
> Hamish
>