[GRASSLIST:6398] problems while porting from grass54 to grass60

GRASS GRASS user
1

To GRASSLIST:
Hi list,
   I am member of janabhaaratii project (www.janabhaaratii.org.in) which
is a govt funded localization project for development, deployment and
community building for free/open source softwares in Indian Languages
   We have been using grass v5.4 for quiet some time. We have some maps
connected to mysql database using ODBC and also some shell scripts which
connect to database and also generate some queries using commands like
d.what.vect
   Now I am trying to port these scripts along with maps and database
into grass-6.0.0

We are facing following problems:
   - using data directory of grass54 in grass60 DOESN'T work. No map from
grass54 is accessible in grass60
- many of the commands in grass54 (eg. d.vect.area, d.what.v.pg etc.)
are not available in grass60. Please note that I have compiled grass60 with
ALL dependencies satisfied.
- syntax of some commands have changed (e.g. d.vect, d.what.vect etc.)
- when I tried to use db.login and db.connect to connect to Mysql
database using odbc as driver, db.connect fails saying that it cannot connect
to use ''@'localhost' which means it is unable to access use and password
information written by db.login in ~/.grasslogin6

Because of these problems, our efforts of using GRASS GIS as an
alternative to expensive GIS softwares particularly in government offices have
slowed down a bit.
We are also actively working on localizing GRASS in Indian Languages
which requires complex text layout handling. As GRASS doesn't support OpenType
font rendering as of now (please correct me if I am wrong), we are trying to
work with doublebyte truetype font which doesn't need a special rendering
engine. here also we are facing problems as we couldnot set menu font to our
own truetype font.

I hope people here will help me overcome the problems. I don't have slightest
doubt in mind about utility of GRASS as excellent & powerful GIS analysis
tool. It is just that I have to learn a bit to use its powerful features.

Waiting for reply.
Regards,
Swapnil Hajare
janabhaaratii team
www.janabhaaratii.org.in

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2

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 18:26:01 +0530
janabhaaratii@ncst.ernet.in wrote:

We are facing following problems:
   - using data directory of grass54 in grass60 DOESN'T work. No map from
grass54 is accessible in grass60

The vector file format has changed. Please refer to:

http://grass.itc.it/grass60/manuals/html60_user/v.convert.html

T
--
Trevor Wiens
twiens@interbaun.com

The significant problems that we face cannot be solved at the same
level of thinking we were at when we created them.
(Albert Einstein)

3

We have been using grass v5.4 for quiet some time. We have some maps
connected to mysql database using ODBC and also some shell scripts
which connect to database and also generate some queries using
commands like d.what.vect
   Now I am trying to port these scripts along with maps and database
into grass-6.0.0

We are facing following problems:

..

   - using data directory of grass54 in grass60 DOESN'T work. No map
   from grass54 is accessible in grass60

as Trevor noted, use v.convert or v.convert.all. The vector system in
6.0 is all new and everything has changed (vastly improved). Do not
expect and sites or vector commands from 5.4 to work the same way in
GRASS 6. Most raster and GIS modules should be mostly the same though.

- many of the commands in grass54 (eg. d.vect.area, d.what.v.pg etc.)
are not available in grass60. Please note that I have compiled grass60
with ALL dependencies satisfied.

As above; the functionality remains, but names have changed.
see http://grass.gdf-hannover.de/twiki/bin/view/GRASS/ModulePortingList

e.g. d.vect.area -> "d.vect type=area"

- syntax of some commands have changed (e.g. d.vect, d.what.vect
etc.)

Yes.

- when I tried to use db.login and db.connect to connect to
Mysql database using odbc as driver, db.connect fails saying that it
cannot connect to use ''@'localhost' which means it is unable to
access use and password information written by db.login in
~/.grasslogin6

Sorry, I don't know databases, someone else will have to answer.
Expect db support to be much more advanced in 6.0.

Because of these problems, our efforts of using GRASS GIS as an
alternative to expensive GIS softwares particularly in government
offices have slowed down a bit.

Once you have worked through these problems, I think the result will be
a much better product for you.

We are also actively working on localizing GRASS in Indian Languages
which requires complex text layout handling. As GRASS doesn't support
OpenType font rendering as of now (please correct me if I am wrong),
we are trying to work with doublebyte truetype font which doesn't need
a special rendering engine. here also we are facing problems as we
couldnot set menu font to our own truetype font.

Translations and multi-byte font support are also vastly improved for
GRASS 6, see:

  http://grass.ibiblio.org/devel/i18n.php
  http://www.foss4g.org

Use d.font.freetype to set the font to use in the display, then go!

OpenType support depends on the version of FreeType you are using I
think. Try fonts from a few different sources (e.g. Adobe, ghostscript,
MicroSoft, etc.), there should be a bunch on your computer already.

Hamish