[Live-demo] new plug-inpackages for qgis

[Hamish]

Massimo Di Stefano wrote:
> Download a new spearfish.tar.gz in the download directory

(better: just copy -r from /usr/local/share/...)


> and tring to load grass file from qgis opening this "new"
> spearfish directory
> i have no problem to dispay grass data inside qgis.

I get the same. (see comments in my 4.0rc6 error summary from
some days ago where I cover this)
 
> hence, it is a permision problem in the grass locations

exec summary:
the problem is a bug in qgis 1.5.0 which I still haven't filed
a bug for (sorry). I don't think we can work around it for this
release and the best solution for now is to add a note in the
qgis quickstart that you should copy the spearfish dataset to the
home dir before starting if you want to use the grass toolbox.


longer version:
GRASS was designed to be (optionally) used on a server/mainframe
by a team/class all working on the same project, with the data
held on the central server or mounted via NFS. (this is why the
spearfish dataset's working mapset is called "user1" btw)
To avoid mass confusion you may only write to your own mapsets,
but you may read from (and include in your map search path) any
of your teammates mapsets, and everyone on the team can read
from the PERMANENT mapset which typically holds core base maps.
The team leader controls the PERMANENT mapset. Individual users
can also make their own mapsets public or private via the
g.access module if they like. For many years it has been like
this, all(?) bugs squashed long ago, and all has been well.
(of course on the Windows build UAC is a total mess, but that's
not really our fault)

So the rule is that your user account must own the mapset in
the filesystem in order to make that the current one. and that's
the way GRASS is set up on the livedvd, with an empty skeleton
mapset in /home/, and read-only data mapsets owned by root.

QGIS is respecting this, but it is taking it too far enforcing
that the PERMANENT mapset must be owned by the user too. or
maybe it is trying to temporarily open the PERMANENT mapset even
if you didn't request it? (eg to grab the common map projection
info)


Hamish


ps- rpy2 addition may fix habitat plugin removed in the install
script. pls check

pps- not sure if this will make it to the qgis list or not, if
not pls fwd.