Subject: ‘GRASS’
November 13, 1997GRASS How To: The Future of GRASS?Operating SystemsExcellent question! Several possible answers have been thrown out: USA/CERL’s announced intention is to use GRASS and COTS (commercial off-the-shelf software) for internal uses, to leave the GRASS public web- and ftp-site on its system indefinitely, and to sign cooperative research and development agreements with three companies: (1) the Environmental Sciences Research Institute (ESRI), (2) ... read more GRASS How To: Web-based Support for GRASS (and for GIS Matters in General)Operating SystemsSupport for a public domain program? No way, they say! Actually, as a user of Linux, you probably know better. GRASS started by having a GRASS Information Office at USA/CERL. There were also very active users outside USA/CERL, who provided valuable user support. GRASS had annual users’ meetings, listservers for users and developers, etc. Companies ... read more GRASS How To: How to Get GRASS Running on Your Linux-based ComputerOperating SystemsAppendices A, B, and C describe how to acquire and install GRASS. Before actually installing GRASS, you will have to decide where to put three parts of the system: The GRASS binaries, source code (if you install this), man pages, documentation, and the like. Many folks put this stuff off /usr/local (e.g. /usr/local/grass/bin, /usr/local/grass/src). The ... read more GRASS How To: How to Acquire GRASSOperating SystemsGRASS used to be available on tape from various companies that signed distribution agreements with USA/CERL. These companies usually supported specific platform environments, such as Masscomp, Sun, DEC, Hewlett Packard, IBM (risc), PC (running some flavor of UNIX), and Macintosh (running AUX). Until recently, the flavors of UNIX working on PCs generally were too low-end, ... read more GRASS How To: System Requirements for GRASSOperating SystemsMinimum requirements include: 8 Mbytes of memory (of course, more is better..) 100 Mbytes of free disk space ~40 mb for executables, ~40 mb for source code (which you can ignore if you merely install the Linux binaries) ~? for data (the veritable bottomless pit can be filled with data, if you so choose) GRASS ... read more GRASS How To: Continued Assessment of Future GRASS ManagementOperating SystemsNote: An ad-hoc group (which includes myself) is exploring the basic issue of continued, reconfigured, yea perhaps increased, value of GRASS as a public test-bed for GIS technology. It is exploring shepherding the testing and release of GRASS5.0, and exploring possibilities for a more distributed management model for GRASS design and development. It is exploring ... read more GRASS How To: A Reinvigorated GRASS Management ModelOperating SystemsIn late 1997, a group at Baylor University took the lead in developing a new Website for GRASS. This quickly developing Website contains GRASS 4.1 source code and Sun Solaris binaries, GRASS 4.1 documentation, and an on- line manual. By November 1997 this site posted the first version of GRASS 4.2 source code and binaries ... read more GRASS How To: A Brief History of GRASSOperating SystemsIn the early 1980s the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (USA/CERL) in Champaign, Illinois, began to explore the possibilities of using Geographic Information Systems to conduct environmental research, assessments, monitoring and management of lands under the stewardship of the U. S. Department of Defense. Part of the motivation for this ... read more GRASS How To: What is GRASS?Operating SystemsGRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) is a public domain raster based GIS, vector GIS, image processing system, and graphics production system. Created by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Constriction Engineering Research Laboratory (USA/CERL) and enhanced by many others, it is used extensively at government offices, universities and commercial organizations throughout the world. It ... read more GRASS How To: What is a GIS?Operating SystemsThere are many ways to describe a Geographic Information System. Here are three working definitions (from David A. Hastings, 1992, Geographic Information Systems: A Tool for Geoscience Analysis and Interpretation): (The minimal definition): A GIS is a hardware/software system for the storage, management, and (with hardcopy or screen graphic) selective retrieval capabilities of georeferenced data. ... read more |
