[GRASS-user] GIS software popularity ranking: http://gisgeography.com/mapping-out-gis-software-landscape

[CARLO CORMIO]

Maybe I'm unable to understand the tone of the author, 'cause I'm not a
native English speaker or something like this, but I just read some
positive and negative comments (pros and cons) of my favourite GIS
software, most probably addressed to a wide audience of common GIS users.
GUI is not the main functionality asked for by GRASS GIS users, mostly
looking for advanced analysis tools and a rigourous approach to data
management and calculations.
GRASS GIS is (and the author acknowledge this) undoubtedly perfect for
this. On the counterpart, being born with a different purpose from being a
fast and efficient tool for cartography and map production, it is also true
that performing such activities results in a choice for another SW (e.g.
QGIS).

My suggestion is to comment suggesting to consider GRASS GIS a spatial
analysis tool, more than a viewer or map printing tool.

And anyway the cons pointed out in the article are well known, so the
choice is between saying "OK, let's try to solve them all" or "that's the
situation 'cause we don't care that much about these tools".
Please, don't change GRASS GIS GUI again, I'm still trying to migrate from
the old and beloved tcltk GUI :-P

Cheers,

Carlo

> ---------- Messaggio inoltrato ----------
> From: Rich Shepard <rshepard at appl-ecosys.com>
> To: grass-user at lists.osgeo.org
> Cc:
> Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2016 05:55:43 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: Re: [GRASS-user] GIS software popularity ranking:
http://gisgeography.com/mapping-out-gis-software-landscape
> On Mon, 26 Sep 2016, Blumentrath, Stefan wrote:
>
>> FYI, I could not resist to also commenting on the GRASS "review" here:
>
>
>> Obviously, the authors of the review seem to be lost in new
>> surroundings.
>
>
> Stefan,
>
>   When you realize that the majority of computer users who write articles
or
> reviews for the Web know only Microsoft's OSes the author's 'cons' make
> perfect sense.
>
>   Too many users know only to point-and-click, drag-and-drop, and work in
a
> pretty GUI. The idea of typing something on a command line is not only
> foreigh, but frightening; many have never done so before. When you see
> complaints such as 'the toolbars are in a different place' and 'handles
> coordinate systems in different locations' it is obvious that the writer
is
> very limited in understanding what's important: function over form.
>
>   I read reviews like this and know to ignore them. Those readers who
accept
> such reviews at face value are equally naive. The focus on the user
> interface is typical of those who were taught superficial use of an
> application without fully understanding how to use it to solve problems.
The
> analogy I use when texplaing my GIS or statistical tools to clients and
> others is that one can teach someone how to use a word processor but that
> does not make him a writer.
>
> Rich
>
>
>
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