[GRASSLIST:5] Re: New GIS Manager adds transparency to layers

Fri Mar 10 21:22:03 EST 2006

Michael,

I have installed the GRASS 6.1 CVS release dated 2006_03_04

and followed your instructions in the README in 
_http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton/files/grass_gismgr/ 
<http://www.public.asu.edu/%7Ecmbarton/files/grass_gismgr/>_gism_rc4_20060307.tgz.

First off, the installation using the old d.m works fine — no errors. 
When I try the new gis.m, the interface tries to come up, but it stalls 
with an error Dialog that reads "Error getting working directory name: 
no such file or directory". If I select the Error Dialog 'OK' button, 
the GIS manager completes its startup. However, if I select a raster map 
to display and click on the refresh button (labeled: "Display active 
layers in the current region") in the "Map Display 1" window, I get the 
same Error Dialog as I got when I first started up the new GIS Manager 
(gis.m). Also, from the time of the startup of the GIS Manager, the 
'status indicator' in the lower left of the "Map Display 1" window 
shows: "please wait..." — this never goes away.

Interestingly, if I select the NVIZ button, there is no problem 
displaying the raster I selected; so, NVIZ seems OK, but the raster map 
will never display in 2-D in the "Map Display 1" window…

Also, when I try to use the Init.sh file from gism_rc4_20060307.tgz, I 
get shared library problems: "libgrass_gis.so cannot open shared object 
file: No such file or directory" — even though the library is in the 
GRASS lib directory. I should mention that due to system constraints, 
the entire GRASS distribution and other libraries (GDAL, PROJ, etc.) are 
in a non-standard location.

A final question: should I be using the gis.m file from 
gism_rc4_20060307.tgz? I have tried both with and without…

I'm running on a Redhat Linux system, FWIW…

Tom

Michael Barton wrote:
> I’ve just finished phase 2 of the GIS Manager update and it’s pretty 
> exciting. At first glance, it looks a lot like the one I’ve been 
> working on and have in the CVS now, but with a couple of important 
> exceptions. One is that transparency is now supported for all GRASS 
> layers.
>
> The second will probably generate the most discussion, so I’m ready to 
> duck and run for cover. Now GRASS is consistent with other GIS 
> programs and more intuitive (as much as I am skeptical about that 
> term) in that the uppermost layer in the layer tree is also the top 
> map in the display. Related to this, new layers insert directly above 
> the currently selected layer instead of at the bottom of the layer tree.
>
> The main changes come ‘under the hood’ of this version of the GIS 
> Manager. It uses g.pnmcomp to composite a set of maps (each rendered 
> as *.PPM files) into a visual display. One of the results is that now 
> GRASS is significantly faster in adding new layers, turning layers on 
> and off, and changing layer attributes—only the new or changed layer 
> needs to be rendered; the others will just be re-composited into a 
> display from existing PPM files. This all happens in a GRASS .tmp 
> directory, so that it doesn’t clutter up your home directories. The 
> other important thing about this new architecture is that it makes 
> GRASS even less dependent on the xdriver and PNGdriver for 
> visualization. GRASS can become more easily portable to different OS’s 
> and GUI frameworks. It is also more scriptable. You can write a script 
> that will create a complete, multilayered map, and output it to a 
> graphics file.
>
> One consequencer of this new architecture is that the GIS Manager does 
> not currently support display output to PNG files. With GDAL (required 
> for many GRASS features) and ghostscript installed, it does support 
> output to PPM/PNM, TIF, JPG, BMP, EPS, and PDF.
>
> Command line usage is still supported in several ways—the old 
> xterminal is still there, there is the new command console, and you 
> can add command layers to the layer tree and display them.
>
> You can see a screen shot of semi-transparent soil vector areas 
> overlaying a raster shaded relief map at
>
> _http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton/files/grass_screenshots/gism2-2.jpg 
> <http://www.public.asu.edu/%7Ecmbarton/files/grass_screenshots/gism2-2.jpg>
> _
> I’ve committed all changes to the CVS. For those of you with binary 
> versions of GRASS who would like to try it, I’ve posted packages you 
> can use to replace your current GIS Manager on my website. For full 
> functionality, you need a version of grass that is dated 
> 21-February-2006 or later. For those of you with a slightly earlier 
> version, I made a second package with all functionality minus 
> transparency. Here are the links.
>
> New GIS Manager files
>
> <_http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton/files/grass_gismgr/ 
> <http://www.public.asu.edu/%7Ecmbarton/files/grass_gismgr/>_gism_rc4_20060307.tgz>
>
> New GIS Manager files for people with recent, but pre-21 February 2006 
> binaries.
>
> <_http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton/files/grass_gismgr/ 
> <http://www.public.asu.edu/%7Ecmbarton/files/grass_gismgr/>_gism_rc4_20060307pre_02-21.tgz>
>
> Enjoy
> Michael
>
> ______________________________
> Michael Barton, Professor of Anthropology
> School of Human Evolution and Social Change
> Arizona State University
> Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
> USA
>
> voice: 480-965-6262; fax: 480-965-7671
> www: http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton 
> <http://www.public.asu.edu/%7Ecmbarton>

-- 
Thomas E Adams
National Weather Service
Ohio River Forecast Center
1901 South State Route 134
Wilmington, OH 45177

EMAIL:	thomas.adams at noaa.gov

VOICE:	937-383-0528
FAX:	937-383-0033