[GRASS-user] Linux Journal features GRASS GIS

[Benjamin Ducke]

On 06/05/2013 11:33 AM, Hamish wrote:
> Hi,
>
> last month or so we changed the location wizard to offer to create a
> user mapset, which should gently nudge people in the direction of not
> using the PERMANENT mapset for everyday work, and exploring the
> concept of MAPSETS. as long as your user name starts with a letter
> before "p" your one is the first offered. even if not, you are more
> likely to click on your own name.
>

Perhaps the dialog that offers to create a new mapset
should also advise that there will always be a
PERMANENT mapset for common static base data.

> I see a funny thing where on linux wx organizes the [cancel][ok] so
> the [cancel] is right under your mouse when you get to the pop up for
> workspace mapset creation, but on windows the [ok] is pre-selected.

That's probably because wxWidgets delegates the
management of the actual widgets to the OS' own
class library. And for some reason the Windows
designers thought it would be wise to have "OK"
selected by default. On Mac OS and Linux (GTK+),
different standard behaviour is used.

>
> so I think the problem is already partially addressed.

I would still favour a warning message when
a user attempts to log into PERMANENT for the
first time (perhaps with a little "Do not show this
hint again" toggle button).

>
> moving PERMANENT to .PERMANENT would break backwards compatibility
> too much I think, and it is useful when you want to share e.g.
> country coastline maps.
>

Yes, attempting to completely hide the PERMANENT
folder would be counter-productive. It is actually
a very useful thing -- if used properly.

Best,

Ben

>
> wrt "maps" wording I don't think there is too much confusion about
> what they are.
>
>
> "layer" is certainly used in two ways. Originally the vector DB link
> ones were called "fields" (and still are in bits of the vector API
> fns internally), but Radim decided to change that after a long while.
> I can't quite remember, you'll have to dig in the archives to see the
> logic in it. Anyway it was before the new GUIs arrived so before the
> overlap.
>
>
> wrt "display" vs "monitor" I don't think there is too much confusion.
> at least new users not using 'd.mon x0' will not have to worry about
> "monitors" since they will never see them. and if they get it wrong
> it's still sort of the same thing to them so they shouldn't notice
> the difference. (ps, I just noticed the d.rast3d.py module
> description is a bit fuzzy in what it will render to [nothing?]
> [note also in grass 5 there was a d.3d module like m.nviz.image now
> does])
>
> but probably "Layer manager" -> "GRASS GIS manager" makes more sense
> seeing it is both the layer manager and the GUI menus, and the python
> console, and the output window ... the trouble with "layers" is that
> people coming from other GIS software will naturally thing in the
> foreign terminology that they are used to, and that was the GUI map
> kind.
>
> (btw, maybe pack the Help menu to the far right side, and make the
> "layer manager" window wider/bigger by default)
>
>
> Hamish
>



-- 
Dr. Benjamin Ducke, M.A.
{*} Geospatial Consultant
{*} GIS Developer

   benducke at fastmail.fm