OpenOSX, a provider of open-source software, is shipping the GRASS GIS 5.0.0 CD.
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GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) is a raster-based GIS, vector GIS, image processing system, graphics production system, data management system, and spatial modeling system from Baylor University. Version 5.0.0 is the first stable version of GRASS available for Mac OS X, and it now includes a native Mac OS X Aqua interface on the Carbon port of the Tcl/Tk interface, according to Jeshua Lacock, the owner of OpenOSX. GRASS and all required and optional libraries have been compiled using gcc 3.1 for at least a 20 percent performance gain over previous builds, he said.
The OpenOSX GRASS GIS 5.0.0 CD offers Mac OS 10.2.x compatibility (including dual-processor support), additional modules, along with numerous bug fixes. The CD installs and configures GRASS GIS with all of the programs and libraries required to run the GUI (graphical user interface) within Mac OS X’s Aqua interface. The installation program also installs complete documentation — in both PDF and HTML formats — tutorials with sample data, and a mirror of the official GRASS Web site.
GRASS in combination with the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library, (GDAL) can import more then 40 GIS file formats, including GeoTiff, Tiff, DXF, SDTS, DEM, Shape, ELAS, PNG, ARC, MIF, Tiger, Garmin, and ASCII. Some of GRASS’ features include: ortho-rectification, Digital Elevation Model creation and editing, projection and re-projection capabilities, raster and vector data support in more then 120 projections, shaded relief with 16-bit precision, geostatistics and spatial data analysis, statistical analysis, 3D visualization and simulation modeling capabilities.
Lacock has submitted the GRASS 5.0.0 binaries for free downloading. The files have been uploaded and will be available soon, he said. The binaries don’t include support or the required or optional libraries that are installed and configured by OpenOSX’s CD. However, they can be downloaded from GRASS’ home Baylor University or from its development headquarters, Istituto Trentino di Cultura.
The OpenOSX GRASS CD is US$50, and six-month CD subscriptions are available for $120.