#OSGEO IRC Log - 2008-10-14

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07:57:24 chippy: hi, are there any of our foss gis tools able to join connecting line features based on an attribute name into one line?
08:03:11 FrankW: chippy: This can be accomplished using scripting on top of GEOS though I don't think it is particularly easy.
08:03:28 FrankW: I think this task is often referred to as a "dissolve" in GIS software.
08:03:47 chippy: FrankW, I see. Thanks for the terminology too!
08:33:59 sigq: osgeofeed: Changeset [1226]: renaming files <http://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo/changeset/1226>
08:34:32 CIA-30: osgeo: tmitchell * r1226 /marketing/bookmark/ ( 6 files ): renaming files
08:35:59 CIA-30: osgeo: tmitchell * r1227 /marketing/bookmark/ ( 4 files ): renaming files
08:36:11 sigq: osgeofeed: Changeset [1227]: renaming files <http://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo/changeset/1227>
09:09:46 milovanderlinden: are there any parties that have succesfully implemented a open source based GEO-ict infrastructure for Gas networks?
09:14:14 darkblue_B: Hi FrankW
09:14:22 FrankW: hi
09:15:01 darkblue_B: I wll hear soon whether I get an asst teaching position at this weekends "Showcase your cause with Google Earth" workshop
09:15:09 darkblue_B: .. at th Bioneers here in the Bay Area
09:15:28 darkblue_B: Bioneers -> ecological concerns .. big show
09:15:50 darkblue_B: I told them I wanted to bring more OSGeo breadth to their content
09:16:41 Schuyler: oh sweet
09:16:45 Schuyler: Bioneers++
09:16:50 darkblue_B: :- )
09:16:53 FrankW: Cool - though it doesn't give you much time to prepare!
09:16:54 Schuyler: darkblue_B: tschaub is all involved in that
09:17:02 darkblue_B: really?
09:17:05 darkblue_B: cool
09:17:16 darkblue_B: tschaub++
09:17:41 darkblue_B: FrankW: I have my intro to PostGIS talk already done
09:17:49 darkblue_B: but yes, you're right
09:21:01 darkblue_B: someone said on IRC "oh you can read your KML in with OGR", and I replied about its limitations..
09:21:28 darkblue_B: they were surprised.. OGR is so impressive with all the other formats..
09:22:08 darkblue_B: I have to be circumspect when talking about the limitations of KML reading in OGR.. there are many, but, OGR is a great tool.. I dont want to give any impression otherwise at all
09:22:41 FrankW: I think it helps to explain that KML does not match the "GIS oriented" data model OGR very well which makes it fairly lossy.
09:22:43 darkblue_B: .. thats pretty tech heavy anyway.. it may not come to that, but for an individual here or there
09:23:08 darkblue_B: FrankW: yes, mismatch of in ternal models.. thats just what I sad, actually
09:23:15 darkblue_B: internal... said
09:35:51 crschmidt: I don't think that's any less true for a number of other formats that OGR handles...
09:36:18 FrankW: It is certainly true of the CAD formats, like dgn.
09:36:36 crschmidt: Right. It's just that more people are interested in KML : )
10:00:20 ajturner_: OGR doesn't handle KML styling, does it?
10:00:24 crschmidt: Right
10:00:42 crschmidt: ajturner_: In the same way it doesn't usually handle CAD styling
10:01:05 FrankW: ( with the exception of dgn and mapinfo formats where styling is somewhat handled )
10:01:18 crschmidt: OGR does have support for styling after a fashion, so it could be added, but relatively few OGR users take advantage of that, I think
10:01:25 crschmidt: I suppose MapServer does, which is the 'big one'
10:02:07 ajturner_: so that's where KML gets odd - it's "almost" a rendered image
10:02:11 ajturner_: like, does OGR handle SVG?
10:02:18 crschmidt: Nope
10:02:21 ajturner_: right
10:02:26 ajturner_: ( jokingly )
10:02:31 crschmidt: ah, okay
10:02:37 crschmidt: Well I've seen people who ask that question seriously
10:02:38 crschmidt: so : )
10:03:30 ajturner: so the problem here is that people are using KML with a lot of styling and that being stripped out can be shocking
10:03:37 ajturner: does it handle extendeddata?
10:03:58 ajturner: is there any progress integrating libKML into OGR?
10:04:05 crschmidt: not at this time
10:04:14 : * crschmidt isn't really sure it would be particularly useful.
10:04:51 crschmidt: Hm, no TylerM
10:05:22 ajturner: well, one of the tenents of libKML is that it retains everything, even if it doesn't understand it
10:05:38 crschmidt: Right, but you have to have a libkml -> OGR translation layer
10:05:46 crschmidt: and that layer wouldn't have the ability to retain everything
10:07:24 crschmidt: Looks like it supports ExtendedData->SchemaData on write
10:07:33 FrankW: Exactly - the "hard" part is mapping KML's data model into OGR's data model and libkml does not help with that.
10:07:46 crschmidt: Hey, speak of the devil
10:08:50 crschmidt: TylerM: You currently act as OSGeo's custodian for a number of CLA-style documents, right
10:08:55 : * TylerM is back in the office : )
10:09:00 TylerM: yes
10:09:07 TylerM: all goes into a wiki page
10:09:28 TylerM: http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Contributor_Agreements_Received
10:09:29 sigq: Title: Contributor Agreements Received - OSGeo Wiki ( at wiki.osgeo.org )
10:09:31 crschmidt: TylerM: MetaCarta is considering changing our agreements so that the agreement is signed over to OSGeo ( and then we just use the contributions within OL )
10:10:05 crschmidt: If we were to do that, would OSGeo be able to maintain those agreements for us in the same way it is for other projects?
10:10:24 TylerM: Yes.. that means they come to me, sit in a file folder and I updated that wiki page.
10:10:39 crschmidt: TylerM: Cool.
10:10:42 TylerM: Not doing anything more than that at this point.
10:10:49 crschmidt: That's all we do internally at the moment
10:10:59 : * darkblue_B reading back
10:11:12 TylerM: So far metacarta has been managing the CLAs right?
10:11:15 crschmidt: we just want to have them be signed over to sompleace other than MetaCarta, since a couple people have brought it up
10:11:16 darkblue_B: writing with libkml might well be worthwhile
10:11:17 : * TylerM doesn't ahve any
10:11:18 crschmidt: Yeah
10:11:32 TylerM: okay fine, sounds like a good move
10:11:34 darkblue_B: would change build requirements.. or be linked as a lib
10:12:17 TylerM: crschmidt: mail to me: PO Box 4844, Williams Lake, BC, Canada, V2G 2V8
10:12:22 TylerM: when the time comes...
10:12:24 TylerM: : )
10:12:37 crschmidt: TylerM: Cool. Thanks.
10:12:43 TylerM: or ping me anytime.. np
10:13:01 crschmidt: http://trac.openlayers.org/wiki/CLA is our list, for the record
10:13:03 sigq: Title: CLA - OpenLayers - Trac ( at trac.openlayers.org )
10:13:10 crschmidt: with seperated ICLA/CCLA
10:13:29 TylerM: okay. I was off for a week... working through my email, hope I wasn't sitting on this question for a week ; )
10:13:34 crschmidt: nope
10:13:40 crschmidt: I only got back from the conference today : )
10:14:11 TylerM: oh, so you'll have your own pile ;- )
10:14:44 crschmidt: Well, I got back Saturday, and I sorted my pile over the weekend : )
10:22:00 acuster: TylerM, you moved?
10:22:15 acuster: does geotools need to change the address from oregon?
10:22:44 TylerM: acuster: nope
10:22:57 TylerM: the oregon address is a mail forwarding service
10:23:02 TylerM: that i'm trying not to use much : )
10:23:18 acuster: okay, thanks
11:01:53 TylerM: wildintellect: ping
11:07:13 wildintellect: TylerM, hello
11:15:04 TylerM: hi wildintellect - i've been away.. any movement on AAG stuff?
11:15:30 TylerM: i'm still under the email pile, so not sure if any further discussion happened yet
11:15:32 wildintellect: well, I made some sessions and it looks like we have about 1/2 the speakers we need to fill them
11:15:47 wildintellect: no marketing said they had to wait for you
11:15:58 TylerM: hah, okay
11:16:09 wildintellect: Frank and Cameron both thought it was a good idea
11:16:22 TylerM: should i look at a wiki page re: this?
11:16:29 wildintellect: and we've got about 2 days left to put a deposit
11:16:30 wildintellect: yes
11:16:55 wildintellect: http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
11:16:56 sigq: Title: AAG 2009 - OSGeo Wiki ( at wiki.osgeo.org )
11:17:44 TylerM: thx
11:21:55 ajturner: out of it - so this is a request for talks at the AAG on OS mapping stuffses?
11:21:59 ajturner: I see OSM on there
11:22:47 wildintellect: yes
11:23:18 wildintellect: well that and a booth
11:23:32 wildintellect: TylerM, there's only 4 non-profit tables left
11:24:04 wildintellect: ajturner, you planning to go and want to give a talk?
11:24:29 ajturner: I am hoping/planning on going - signed up to give a talk in the UCL session on neogeo stuff
11:24:34 ajturner: and if going - would love ot talk about OSM as well
11:24:51 wildintellect: well put another abstract in and I'll put you in the session of your choice
11:25:40 TylerM: let's see who else is going
11:25:41 TylerM: what's the deadline for abstractsx?
11:25:47 wildintellect: Oct 16
11:26:00 stvn: : )
11:26:00 wildintellect: but you can edit it for another 3 months
11:26:04 TylerM: bnah
11:26:12 wildintellect: helena is working on one
11:26:15 TylerM: but you have be registered first, right?
11:26:19 wildintellect: yes
11:26:19 TylerM: have to be
11:26:22 TylerM: ok
11:26:33 TylerM: i put a general note to discuss list to see who else might be attending
11:26:49 TylerM: my fear re: the booth is not having enough bodies to fill it
11:26:57 wildintellect: I have 4 volunteers
11:27:09 TylerM: wah! great
11:27:54 TylerM: they have registrations already?
11:27:54 wildintellect: same from CGS last year, you can even see their picture http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/CGS_2008
11:27:55 sigq: Title: CGS 2008 - OSGeo Wiki ( at wiki.osgeo.org )
11:28:01 TylerM: ah, right... great
11:28:12 wildintellect: most of them are giving talks, 2 in our sessions for sure
11:28:23 TylerM: okay, so cost for getting in isn't an issue for them?
11:28:32 wildintellect: students
11:28:40 wildintellect: already planning on going
11:28:58 wildintellect: I've done a good job teaching other grad students at UCD
11:29:18 TylerM: great : )
11:29:41 wildintellect: we only need Osgeo to book the booth itself for now
11:29:58 wildintellect: and that deposit is only $500
11:30:22 TylerM: gotcha
11:30:24 wildintellect: +500 later - but we have some time to try and find other ways to make the flyers etc
11:30:44 wildintellect: and fill in the rest of the budget
11:31:05 wildintellect: like it would be great if you came
11:31:09 TylerM: i see
11:31:15 TylerM: it's really tempting..
11:31:20 TylerM: i'm a geographer after all
11:31:34 TylerM: and i have a passionate story to share with other geographers
11:31:42 TylerM: "Open source saved my career" ;- )
11:31:48 wildintellect: I think it would be very good
11:32:04 wildintellect: darkblue_B, how's your postgis abstract coming?
11:32:06 TylerM: i'm having trouble finding hte full conf. reg. fee cost?
11:32:23 TylerM: i.e. for a speaker
11:32:26 wildintellect: http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/2009/registration.htm
11:32:27 sigq: Title: Association of American Geographers | 2009 Annual Meeting ( at www.aag.org )
11:32:35 CameronShorter: Jumping in here - I'm very supportive of setting up a presence at the conference, but am a little concerned about the expectation that OSGeo needs to foot the whole bill. The OSGeo marketing budget doesn't stretch far enough to provide 100% funding for all conferences we should attend around the world.
11:32:53 wildintellect: speaker pay the same rate
11:33:10 TylerM: hi CameronShorter - it's a good point
11:33:23 : * stvn thinks it would be wise to indentify important conferences around the world
11:33:24 wildintellect: CameronShorter, at this point I'm willing to settle for the booth $1000 and we'll find a way to pay for the materials
11:33:55 wildintellect: I agree, and have pointed out this is a huge conference for academic geography
11:33:59 TylerM: CameronShorter: don't see it as a trend for this one at least
11:34:25 TylerM: it will be a first and hopefully generate enough interest/synergy to share costs for future events.
11:34:44 wildintellect: that's the plan
11:35:05 TylerM: this was one particular event the we lamented over not being more organised at for a few years in a row.
11:35:12 wildintellect: google tables at it, but oddly autodesk doesn't
11:35:33 TylerM: that'd be Association of American Civil Engineers ;- )
11:35:47 CameronShorter: Doing arithmetic from our $50K budget, there is ~ $3K to spend per local OSGeo group. ( And we should be spending a lot of that money on big wins for us )
11:36:21 CameronShorter: Has anyone asked Autodesk if they can contribute?
11:36:35 CameronShorter: Autodesk have been very supportive here in Australia.
11:36:35 wildintellect: I don't know the contacts
11:36:38 TylerM: not yet.. just trying to catch up
11:36:45 TylerM: yes, same here CameronShorter
11:37:01 TylerM: I know who to ask
11:37:18 CameronShorter: cool, action on TylerM to follow up?
11:38:15 wildintellect: well should we propose to at least commit Osgeo to $1000 so we can book the booth on time and then use or contacts to get the rest of the budget filled?
11:38:17 TylerM: I'd rather see if they are interested in sharing a booth, so they could have mapguide folks there as well
11:38:41 TylerM: Yes, I'll follow up and yes, I think the above is a reasonable way forward.
11:38:52 CameronShorter: of interest, I'm writing a proposal today to get sponsorship for a LiveDVD run here in Australia, experiemental first, then possibly sent to all Geospatial Uni students.
11:38:59 TylerM: This is one of the top 2-3 strategic events in USA I believe.
11:39:09 TylerM: niiiiice
11:39:14 wildintellect: if it's Mapguide OS then ok, but it might get tricky otherwise
11:39:24 TylerM: wildintellect: you mean commercial booth pricing?
11:39:31 TylerM: know the cost diff?
11:39:31 wildintellect: right
11:40:15 wildintellect: non-profit is 1/2 price
11:40:23 wildintellect: commercial is $2000
11:40:29 TylerM: heh
11:40:30 TylerM: okay
11:40:48 wildintellect: see the dilemna
11:41:26 TylerM: yup.. the $1k is a good investment, even from a "local chapter" point of view..
11:41:36 TylerM: it could easily spin off/support a dozen local chapters, imo
11:41:37 wildintellect: I was going to talk to the OSM guys but hadn't had a chance yet
11:41:40 TylerM: if they are meet there
11:41:47 TylerM: wildintellect: go for it
11:42:22 wildintellect: but like I said we need to get the abstracts and booth signed up before the deadlines
11:43:27 wildintellect: it's a little late to do an official workshop but a mapping party might be possible, if we play it up at the booth
11:45:11 TylerM: i'll look at the booth and recommend we go there.
11:45:15 TylerM: give me a couple hours
11:47:15 wildintellect: sounds good, thanks
11:47:29 wildintellect: ajturner, should I await an OSM talk from you?
11:48:00 ajturner: yes - let me check about our other submission as well
11:48:14 wildintellect: ajturner, and are you thinking very techie or general audience?
11:48:14 ajturner: also, if I come I can bring at least 6 gps units with me for a mapping party
11:48:25 ajturner: can do either - what do you think would be appropriate?
11:48:44 wildintellect: cool I'm emailing Steve Coast to see if he wants to come run a mapping party/split booth
11:48:46 ajturner: can talk about the high-level history, goals, uses, examples of it
11:49:01 ajturner: cool - if SteveC can make it - that'd be great
11:49:21 wildintellect: he's in SF these days and has been to davis 3 times already
11:49:57 wildintellect: I think we're short on techie talks but if you can go either way, let's aim for that and we can switch you if we need to balance the numbers
12:10:58 wildintellect: TylerM, I'll be back in about 5 hours ( class ) if you want to catch up then
12:11:42 TylerM: no worries, writing to list now
12:12:01 wildintellect: I'm emailed SteveC and CC'd you
12:13:17 wildintellect: prob send a Call for Papers to QGIS, Mapserver and Ossim tonight...
13:57:02 chippy: re: line dissolve. grass's v.build.polylines did what I wanted : )
13:59:07 nhv: chippy thanks for reporting back !!
13:59:55 nhv: [11:58] <chippy> hi, are there any of our foss gis tools able to join connecting line features based on an attribute name into one line?
13:59:57 nhv: [12:04] <FrankW> chippy: This can be accomplished using scripting on top of GEOS though I don't think it is particularly easy.
13:59:59 nhv: [12:04] <FrankW> I think this task is often referred to as a "dissolve" in GIS software.
14:00:05 nhv: for those that look at the logs
14:03:23 chippy: cheers nhv
14:22:32 crschmidt: TylerM: Is OSGeo officially 501c3 setup yet?
14:25:53 crschmidt: looks like maybe not.
15:22:25 TylerM: crschmidt: not yet, the official application has been sent in though
15:22:37 TylerM: i'm told to expect 3-4 months before IRS responds
15:22:39 crschmidt: TylerM: Okay. Do we have an expectation of how long... gotcha
15:22:43 TylerM: but maybe shorter if really lucky
15:22:43 crschmidt: and it was sent in... ?
15:22:48 TylerM: yup
15:22:59 crschmidt: i was looking for a when : )
15:23:21 TylerM: ah.. only week and a half ago
15:23:27 TylerM: iirc
15:23:40 crschmidt: gotcha
16:34:43 wildintellect: TylerM, my advisor offered some funds to help pay for flyers and LiveDVDs at the AAG
16:35:55 TylerM: wildintellect: that's great news
16:36:19 TylerM: I don't see any reason to not get a table, especially with more support coming in.
16:36:39 wildintellect: do you think you'll come?
16:36:53 TylerM: i would like to
16:37:28 TylerM: just have to make sure it fits my schedule
16:37:55 wildintellect: hope you figure it out in the next 2 days, since it's worth your while to give a talk if you're coming
16:38:10 TylerM: definitely, would only come if i can talk : )
16:38:22 TylerM: ...probably
16:38:51 wildintellect: the 6 months ahead abstract deadline is a real pain sometimes
16:39:52 TylerM: all deadlines catch me off guard ;- )
16:40:52 wildintellect: I remember last year, hence all the commotion from my corner
16:41:14 TylerM: hmm.. i might be overbooked
16:41:31 TylerM: and we have an unscheduled surgery date happening sometime too.
16:41:40 TylerM: I should bow out before I commit : )
16:41:52 TylerM: or i'll be stringing people along.
16:49:11 wildintellect: as long as you take care of the booth paperwork on-time, we'll manage
16:50:26 TylerM: anything special to do that?
16:52:03 wildintellect: it needs to be accompanied with a $500 deposit
16:52:46 TylerM: well i knew that much : )
16:52:57 TylerM: there isn't someone in particular you've been talking with
16:53:02 TylerM: that is waiting for me or anything?
16:53:13 wildintellect: nope, it's just pdf form online that you email in
16:53:20 TylerM: cool
16:53:38 wildintellect: I was waiting for someone Osgeo official to do it
16:53:52 wildintellect: especially since I don't have the checkbook
16:53:56 TylerM: yup, good call.. i'll take care of it : )
16:56:28 wildintellect: everything you need should be on http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/2009/exhibitor.htm
16:56:30 sigq: Title: Association of American Geographers | 2009 Annual Meeting ( at www.aag.org )
16:58:06 TylerM: wildintellect: did you talk to anyone specifically about getting us the non-profit rate, though we are not 501( c )3 yet?
16:58:36 wildintellect: I didn't, but I think you should be able to sweet talk them
16:58:55 wildintellect: you can tell them you filed
16:59:01 TylerM: okay, will do
16:59:12 wildintellect: hopefully it will get approved by march
16:59:39 wildintellect: are any of the Osgeo projects already a 501?
16:59:45 wildintellect: on their own?
17:00:51 wildintellect: you could call the contact tomorrow and work it out with them
17:03:23 TylerM: make sense, thanks.
17:22:01 TylerM: don't think any of the projects are registered
19:22:39 pramsey: bonjour canadiens
19:22:44 pramsey: the more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?
19:29:15 mleslie: Well, it's better than I'd feared, worse than I'd hoped and about what I'd expected.
19:29:32 mleslie: A whole lot of meh.
19:36:32 TylerM: a few more rounds of this and we'll finally get a majority : )
19:38:56 TylerM: any clues on what powers the mapping tech at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/map/2008/ ?
19:38:58 sigq: Title: CBC.ca News - Canada Votes 2008 - Interactive Results Map ( at www.cbc.ca )
19:39:00 TylerM: .. other than flash
19:39:32 TylerM: probably illustrator
19:40:54 mleslie: Green = 0. Ouch.
19:41:07 TylerM: i'm kinda surprised
19:41:45 mleslie: I wasn't expecting a Green PM, but that's pretty poor. Economy trumps all I suppose.
19:42:39 TylerM: in many cases environment concerns fall to the provinces anyway, it seems.
20:47:35 darkblue_B: TylerM: there is some association of Flash Mappers out there..
20:48:00 darkblue_B: Flash, and now Flex, is used in high-end advertising, so there is money
20:48:33 darkblue_B: Hollywood.. New York.. Chicago.. I havent run into them myself but I have heard mention
20:52:46 : * bwoodall eyes the Nvidia site that has Flex
23:24:06 sigq: osgeofeed: Ticket #301 ( task created ): request for new live-demo mailing list <http://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo/ticket/301>
23:34:09 sigq: osgeofeed: Ticket #297 ( task closed ): Create a new email list for LiveDVD discussions <http://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo/ticket/297#comment:1>