[GRASSLIST:6] Re: New GIS Manager adds transparency to layers

[Junji Takara]

Michael,

It is splendid work.
It acts well.

Debian testing
grass-6.1.cvs_src_snapshot_2006_03_04.tar.gz
gism_rc4_20060307.tgz

On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:59:47 -0700
Michael Barton <michael.barton at asu.edu> wrote:

> I¹ve just finished phase 2 of the GIS Manager update and
> it¹s pretty exciting. At first glance, it looks a lot
> like the one I¹ve 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
> I¹m 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 Œunder the hood¹ 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
> doesn¹t 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 OS¹s 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
> 
> I¹ve committed all changes to the CVS. For those of you
> with binary versions of GRASS who would like to try it,
> I¹ve 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/gism_rc4_20060307.tg
> z>
> 
> New GIS Manager files for people with recent, but pre-21
> February 2006 binaries.
> 
> <http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton/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
> 
> 


------------    Junji Takara D.V.M.   -----------
------------ NAHA Veterinary Hospital -----------
junji at vet.ne.jp