Fwd: Spatial selection Tools and Table Enhancements

[Barry Windridge]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Barry Windridge <bwindridge at gmail.com>
Date: Oct 2, 2006 9:56 AM
Subject: Re: Spatial selection Tools and Table Enhancements
To: Bernhard Reiter <bernhard at intevation.de>


Hi Bernhard

> thanks a lot for your contribution!
> This looks like you did a bug chunk of good work!
> Of course this also takes a while to review so bear with us here.
> I also have to think about how to handle your contribution
> in the best way. Two things are on my mind:
>
> a) How to best release it as Free Software.
> Ideally we (means Intevation) would be interested
> in getting a copyright assignment from you (like with any contributor)
> to be able to completely publish Thuban as Free Software and legally
> maintain it. E.g. when we might consider going to GPLV v3 when it comes
> out or to LGPL at some point.
> Is that something you find worth considering?
> Of course we will keep your author name in the files, getting you full credit.
> Currently they do not have a license statement.

My intentions is that the contributions are be freely available and to
be used in Thuban. Is there something formal that I am supposed to do
to achieve this?


> b) How to quality control.
> In the earlier days we were working much more intensively on Thuban.
> During this time we made it a ground rule to have all changes be double
> checked, enhancements thoroughly discussed, tests
> and documentation being written before committing to our repository.
>
> When intensity dropped this turned out to be not feasable, because turnaround
> times were getting quite long. I believe it is more important to take up
> good additions and have less quality control, but show some progress even
> when there are bugs to attract more users and developers.
>
> What do you prefer?
> If we try to be stricter, it will prove your code and Thuban in general,
> but it also will take a lot longer and might be potentially frustrating for
> you.

I have no objections to them going out withoug full quality checking,
however I don't think that they should go out without some checking!

The spatial features I submitted last week were submitted for
comment/checking - I don't think they are ready to go out yet. I am
still lerning about Thuban and even if the code I have submitted,
proves to have no obivious bugs (unlikely!), the code and user
interface needs to be tidied up before it is released.

Can you detail for me how you would see 'early release' working - what
level of checking would code recieve?

I would be interested in hearing about the history of Thuban - why did
you (intervation) start it and why has the intensity of development
been reduced. Where do you want it to go in the future?


> > Select by graphics tools that I have previousely posted have been
> > fixed to handle multi-part shapes.

I should also point out that the select by graphics tools submitted on
the 24 Sept also fixes the problem that the original code had with the
user drawing a polygon that had concave parts.

> Just to be double sure: I understand that this supercedes
> the code you have posted in "Previous/Next Extents Tool" on the 8th,
> because it is included in tools2.zip.

The code for the Previous/Next Extents Tool" should be the same as the
original version. Unitl now, I have not had the facility to keep
changes of individual version on my onw computer - What I submitted on
the 24 is the accumulated changes I have made - plus updating the
files to the latest version of the Thuban head revision.

> > Logic added to make a selection a property of a layer, so that
> > multiple layers can have selections simultaneously.
>
> You have added quite a few enhancements on a per layer basis.
> What are the use cases that you have in mind for this?
> I am wondering if this affect usability of Thuban for users
> that could potentially get confused when they have a selection per layer.

I am used to using GIS software that can maintian selections on
multiple layers. I assumed this was just basic functionality.

Apart from that, you need to be able to maintain selections on at
least two layers to do useful spatial selections using one layer to
select features from another layer. I guess for a simple layer on
layer selection, you could clear the selection used to make the new
selection - but making this the normal behaviou would severely limit
the flexibility of the feature.

Allowing the user to choose how selections are highlighted on
different layers gives the user a mechanism to differentiate
selections made on different layers.

I think that the other changes on a layer basis were only to support
and enhance the ability to make selections on a layer.


> As Didrik has pointed out,
> to make it easier to test your code, a patch against trunk would be best.
> If you work on a checkout of Thuban, svn diff -u will just produce this.

I have just replied to Didrik's email, but I don't think I included
the devel-list in my reply - so it is duplicated below:



> I would also help to have one issue in the patch tracker on wald
> per feature, as it enables to discuss and look as one change at a time.

Until now I have not had a local SVN repository to enable me to keep
track of my own versions - and as far I am aware I the cope I have
submitted previousely has not been added to wald, so I have simple
kept a local version that I have made cummulative changes to - hence
you have got everything when I made a posting.

> You can also use an svn branch if you like.
> Just register on wald, and email me your id so I can upgrade your priviledges.

My Wald login is: barryw


> Best Regards,
> Bernhard
>
> --
> Managing Director - Owner, www.intevation.net       (Free Software Company)
> Germany Coordinator, fsfeurope.org       (Non-Profit Org for Free Software)
> www.kolab-konsortium.com   (Email/Groupware Solution, Professional Service)
>
>
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