[FWTools] Documentation and delivery of REC, GRASS, GPX, GML and Interlis drivers

[Stefan Keller]

Dear Frank,

Thank you for the fast answers. Thanks also to Even regarding GPX: I'm
excited to test GPX reader and hopefully also writer if expat makes it into
the Windows distibution. See my further comments below.

Stefan

2007/11/19, Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam at pobox.com>:
>
> Stefan Keller wrote:
> > Frank,
> >
> > I'm referring to your thread and Bryan Keith's post about "FWTools 2.0.0
> > Released": Frank made a great job especially also with OGR and I' trying
> > to promote and use it.
> >
> > Regarding documentation and features of the OGR (incl. OGR2OGR) tools I
> > have following hints and questions, especially also to outreach it to
> > Windows users:
> >
> > * The REC driver (read-only) is mentioned in ogr2ogr but I don't find
> > any documentation about it as a source/format.
>
> Stefan,
>
> This is a special purpose format that is not of wide interest.  I am not
> keen on documenting it.


That's ok. REC sounds just like RECORD which could stand for an textual db
format.

> * GRASS is mentioned in the Web documentation
> > (http://www.gdal.org/ogr/ogr_formats.html) without reading/writing
> > availability restrictions - but it doesn't work either (at least on my
> > Windows installations).
>
> FWTools does not support GRASS.  libgrass is under the GPL and FWTools
> includes GPL incompatible software (such as MrSID), so I had to
> choose either the GRASS driver or non-free drivers.  I chose the
> non-free drivers.


Fine.

> * GPX writing: The Web documenation says: "OGR has support for GPX
> > reading (if GDAL is build with expat library support) and writing." From
> > this, reading is not optional; so the following should work - but
> > doesn't: $ ogrinfo -ro -al test.gpx


Ok. Even clarified that it's not yet checked in for 2.0.0.

The GPX support is very new, perhaps it was introduced after the last
> FWTools release?  I see FWTools is built against expat (at least on
> linux) and so we can reasonably expect GPX support.  Hmm, I think expat
> is missing on windows (other than the expat for OGDI) so I'm not sure
> what will happen there.


 So, will both - GPX and expat - make it into 2.0.1 (linux and Windows)?
The ability to have default GPX reading support sounds appealing to me.

> * Reading two of the most prominent formats from GPS and GIS, namely GPX
> > and GML, are not part of the main distribution of FWTools (GPX needs
> > expat library and GML Xerces).
>
> I believe FWTools on windows and linux includes Xerces and thus full
> GML support.


Sorry: GML writing works.GML reading needs xerxes: So we have two differend
libraries, expat and xerxes, for reading XML. This could perhaps enhanced
while upgrading to GML 3: Any plans?

> And Interlis needs a jar (ili2c.jar) from elsewhere.
>
> I'm not adverse to distributing ili2c.jar with FWTools, but I
> don't distribute a Java interpreter so I think it would be of
> limited value.


Good argument. So let it be like it is: There is even a direct download link
in the documentation http://www.gdal.org/ogr/drv_ili.html

> I understand the argument to keep components apart. On
> > the other side, this means, that Windows users are practically excluded
> > from using these features. => Is it difficult for those who maintain the
> > build scripts anyway to compose a Windows release as it is now together
> > with one which *includes* these three libraries?
>
> I'm starting to wonder if you are mixing up the "stock" GDAL DLLs
> distributed from download.osgeo.org, and FWTools.  FWTools is not
> maintained by "those", but just by me.   And it does have GML and
> hopefully will include GPX.


No, I just wasn't shure who makes the Windows delivery. But yes,
distribution of OGR/GDAL/FWTools through download.osgeo.org doesn't make in
easiert for newcomers to catch the latest stable version.

> * Finally one question about perhaps the most well known "GIS/CAD"
> > formats ever: DXF file reading is currently not supported. To be sure
> > not to begin redundant activities: Are there plans to enhance that?
>
> There is currently no support for reading DXF and I am not aware of anyone
> working on this.  The existing DXF/DWG driver is likely to be removed from
> GDAL/OGR since it includes some source code directly adapted from the
> open design alliance code base.
>
> An MIT/X DXF read/writer without dependencies on external libraries would
> be a valuable addition to GDAL/OGR.
>
> Best regards,


What do you mean with MIT/X?

Yours, Stefan
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