[GRASS-user] Re: [GRASS GIS] #668: export and share region settings

[Michael Barton]

I don't understand what you want to do here. AFAICT, the only reason  
for saving a GRASS region is to use the region in GRASS. The same goes  
for a workspace file. As others have pointed out g.region and g.proj  
will export the details of any projection used by GRASS.

If you are trying to use a region defined in one location within  
another location, you can do that--at your own risk. Just copy the  
region def file from location1/mapset1 to location2/mapset2.

Following up on a couple of ongoing threads, the location/mapset  
structure of GRASS has been much discussed and thought out with some  
care. I know it can be annoying sometimes for people coming from other  
GIS programs, but GRASS has long had a philosophy of emphasizing the  
importance of accurate digital mapping and cartography--something that  
is probably tied to its primarily scientific, rather than commercial,  
development and use. The location/mapset structure is an important  
aspect of maintaining that accuracy.

As I tell frustrated students, a GIS is not like a word processor or  
even a graphics program. There is more to managing geospatial data  
than simply reading a file format. I'm not trying to be trite, but  
simply pointing out that user expectations are strongly conditioned by  
the software they use heavily and most of us use other kinds of  
programs more frequently than we use a GIS. The location/mapset  
structure forces users to think about some important requirements of  
geospatial data before they start the program.

Although I, too, was initially turned off by this, I've become an  
increasingly strong supporter of this approach over time. Sometimes I  
even think that we would be better off to get away from all semblance  
of word processor and graphic programs in the UI in order to make  
users to think about GIS software differently. Unfortunately, I have  
been so far insufficiently creative to think about how to do this-- 
though I saw some interesting ideas at a recent UCGIS conference. The  
interactive GIS and sandbox using an inexpensive xbox camera and a  
data projector was especially fascinating.

Michael
____________________
C. Michael Barton, Professor of Anthropology
Director of Graduate Studies, School of Human Evolution & Social Change
Director, Center for Social Dynamics & Complexity
Arizona State University

Phone: 480-965-6262
Fax: 480-965-7671
www: <www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton>




On Jul 1, 2009, at 3:18 PM, GRASS GIS wrote:

> #668: export and share region settings
> -------------------------- 
> +-------------------------------------------------
>  Reporter:  timmie       |       Owner:  grass-dev at lists.osgeo.org
>      Type:  enhancement  |      Status:  new
>  Priority:  normal       |   Milestone:  6.5.0
> Component:  wxGUI        |     Version:  svn-develbranch6
> Resolution:               |    Keywords:  g.region
>  Platform:  Linux        |         Cpu:  x86-32
> -------------------------- 
> +-------------------------------------------------
> Comment (by timmie):
>
> Yes, one can save them.
> But not to a text file or configuration file outside GRASS.
> Like the wxGUI workspace settings.
>
> -- 
> Ticket URL: <https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/668#comment:5>
> GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>