[Freegis-list] GRASS still quite far from usable

[Ben Discoe]

> -----
> From: Markus Neteler [mailto:neteler at itc.it] 
> Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 6:19 AM
>
> > I would like to suggest for
> http://vterrain.org/Elevation/srtm.html "Tools"
> the GRASS GIS software which
> - reads SRTM tiles
> - support reprojection, [...]

Hi Markus,

This evening, i tried once again to run GRASS 6.0.  This time, i was able to
get it to run far enough to display the "GRASS 6.0.0 GIS Manager" window.

I tried to do a simple thing: import and display a Shapefile.  Apparently,
this was far too advanced a thing to attempt in GRASS.  I was able to
generate tons of cryptic errors about command-line arguments, but could not
get a single line to be drawn.

> Let me suggest to first start with an exting data set: Spearfish
>  http://grass.itc.it/download/data.php
>  -> SPEARFISH 6.0 data set

I've tried it.  Downloaded, put it in my grass_data folder, selected it at
startup.  GRASS opens with a window titled "GRASS 6.0.0 GIS Manager -
spearfish60".  Nothing is displayed in the window - not graphics, not a list
of layers, nothing!  I looked for, but could not find any command to Zoom
All, or otherwise draw the data, in case drawing the data is something GRASS
is so mind-numbingly unfriendly as to have to be TOLD to do.  Giving the
command "Display: Display vector maps" results only in "ERROR: Required
parameter <map> not set".  Command "Display: Redraw active display" opens a
blank window titled "dialog1" with nothing in it.  And so on.

I get the impression that rather little testing or debugging has been done
with this application.

> > One of these years, i wonder if i might see GRASS actually run.
> Hope so!

I hope so too.  I really want to like GRASS.  I want to see it work.  I'll
keep trying every few months.  Do you know if anyone is porting it away from
ancient X-Windows?  E.g. to Qt, MFC, wxWidgets, or any other modern GUI so
that normal people might actually use it?

Thanks,
Ben