[GRASSLIST:48] Re: New GIS Manager adds transparency to layers

Mon Mar 13 13:11:32 EST 2006

Michael,

Where is GRASS/new display manager going to look for the .tmp directory? 
In the directory GRASS is started from; one's $HOME directory; other?

Thanks,
Tom

Michael Barton wrote:
> Something similar has just been reported on some lab computers running GRASS
> under Cygwin. Maybe it's a different issue, though because it only happened
> with a version of init.sh that automatically runs gism2. It seems to run OK
> if launched manually.
>
> Your GRASS in a non-standard location might be an issue. I'm not sure where
> the working directory error comes from. Is it a TclTk error (buttons run,
> cancel, details) or another kind of error (xwindows, bash, etc..)?
>
> The GIS Manager display works by creating PPM files in a temp directory
> within your working GRASS mapset--set by g.tempfile. If you don't have
> access to such a .tmp directory, you will have problems.
>
> Let me know if any of these gives you a clue to what is wrong.
>
> Michael
>
>
> On 3/10/06 7:22 PM, "Thomas Adams" <Thomas.Adams at noaa.gov> wrote:
>
>   
>> 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" windowŠ
>>
>> 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 withoutŠ
>>
>> I'm running on a Redhat Linux system, FWIWŠ
>>
>> Tom
>>
>> Michael Barton 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
>>> <http://www.public.asu.edu/%7Ecmbarton/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/
>>> <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_20060307
>>> pre_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>
>>>       
>
> ___________________________
> Michael Barton, Professor of Anthropology
> School of Human Evolution & Social Change
> Arizona State University
> Tempe, AZ  85287
>
> WWW - http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton
> Phone: 480-965-6262
> Fax: 480-965-7671
>
>   

-- 
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