[GRASS-user] need help with mac os x installation

[William Kyngesburye]

On Sep 3, 2007, at 7:36 AM, Moritz Lennert wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> As we will finally switch our GIS teaching to GRASS/QGIS, I now  
> need to help our professor to install these on her Mac OS X 10.4.10.
>
> I decided to use 6.2.
>
> I started with William's port at http://www.kyngchaos.com/software/ 
> unixport/grass, first installing all the frameworks, then grass.  
> However, when I try to launch grass I get a message about there  
> being a problem with the wish command. A 'which wish' in a terminal  
> show /usr/bin/wish. Do I need to install another version of tcl/tk  
> for GRASS ?
>
My GRASS binaries include a bundled TclTk, this is the one that  
should be used and it should be automatic, no need for env  
settings.  /usr/bin/wish is the Apple-installed TclTk and is old.

First thing to check: make sure X11 is installed, it's optional on  
OSX.  It's on the Tiger or system install disc - run the Optional  
Installs installer, or find it in /System/Installation/Packages.


When you say GRASS/Qgis, note that my builds of Qgis, 0.8 and 0.9,  
use GRASS 6.3.


> So, several questions: any recommendation about which OS X port to  
> use ? What are the differences ?

Lorenzo made it possible to use an Aqua TclTk, which, if a missing  
X11 is the problem, makes it possible to run without X11.  But NVIZ  
requires an X11 TclTk.  It's possible to build it for Aqua (Lorenzo  
may have done so), but it has problems.  I gave up on Aqua TclTk  
because it has cosmetic issues with layout (some serious) and there  
are some controls that haven't been "Aquafied", so it just looks  
strange.  And with the move to Python for the GUI, I see no need to  
pursue troublesome Mac-only bugs.

My package is universal.  Lorenzo's is PPC-only, though it'll run  
(slightly slower) with Rosetta translation on Intel Macs.

Lorenzo also includes lesstif and thus the xganim tool.  I'm hoping  
for a non-lesstif version of that (I think there is a TclTk script  
version) and suggest running a series of images thru ffmpeg or other  
video tool in the meantime.

There are a few extras in one or the other:

- Lorenzo includes ghostscript, for printing and creating ps output  
it looks like.  I don't know how much better that that is than using  
builtin GRASS methods for generating postscript.

- I include some helper apps not in the OSX unix system and needed by  
some GRASS commands - wget, gpsbabel, nnbathy (but not the GRASS  
script extra), a few netpbm tools.

I got my build setup into the GRASS source (so I suppose it's  
'official').  Anyone can create a GRASS.app just like mine.  Even add  
the missing lesstif/xganim.

-----
William Kyngesburye <kyngchaos*at*kyngchaos*dot*com>
http://www.kyngchaos.com/

First Pogril: Why is life like sticking your head in a bucket filled  
with hyena offal?
Second Pogril: I don't know.  Why IS life like sticking your head in  
a bucket filled with hyena offal?
First Pogril: I don't know either.  Wretched, isn't it?

-HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy