On 2012-10-11 22:59+0100 Andrew Ross wrote: [Phil said] >> My fallback strategy will be to create a globe.shp, etc based on the >> contents of globe.map I was just waiting for the code to be tested before I >> did it. I think this is the "method of least surprise." If a user selects to >> use shapefiles then they should use shapefiles easch time. > > I don't feel too strongly about this (perhaps others do?)
I haven't had a chance to look at or try Phil's patch so I am not quite sure what it does at this moment in regard to the the current map files in the old format. But from what he said, replacements for the old formatted files in shapefile format are in the works. So I think that leaves us three obvious choices with regard to how we deal with the old map files and the software for reading that old format. (1) Preserve the ability to read the present map files in their present old format indefinitely. (2) Same as (1) except just for the time being. This choice would give us the chance to officially deprecate those old formats now (in the release announcement for the forthcoming release) and wait to eliminate those old formats (both data and code to read it) one release cycle further down the road when shapelib would become an official prerequisite for anyone wanting to decorate or transform maps with PLplot. (3) Drop the official deprecation period and simply announce in the release announcement for the forthcoming release that shapelib is an immediate prerequisite for anyone wanting to decorate or transform maps with PLplot. That choice means the old format maps and old format reading code could be eliminated now rather than later. My only strong feeling is I don't like (1) at all, but I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about which of the other two choices we take. However, I lean toward (3) because my impression is the old format is so dated and obscure that it is just not taken seriously by anyone who wants to decorate or transform maps with PLplot. In sum, the basic point I would like to make is we should be clear about our choice between the 3 possibilities above so that Phil knows whether to plan to (1) never drop the old formatted files and the associated software for reading them, (2) drop those old files and old software soon, or (3) drop those old files and old software immediately. Alan __________________________ Alan W. Irwin Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca). Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state implementation for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); the Time Ephemerides project (timeephem.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting software package (plplot.sf.net); the libLASi project (unifont.org/lasi); the Loads of Linux Links project (loll.sf.net); and the Linux Brochure Project (lbproject.sf.net). __________________________ Linux-powered Science __________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don't let slow site performance ruin your business. Deploy New Relic APM Deploy New Relic app performance management and know exactly what is happening inside your Ruby, Python, PHP, Java, and .NET app Try New Relic at no cost today and get our sweet Data Nerd shirt too! http://p.sf.net/sfu/newrelic-dev2dev _______________________________________________ Plplot-devel mailing list Plplot-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/plplot-devel
