[Xastir-dev] first cut at geocoder

[tbaggett at jump.net]

If I may share an opinion, I feel that drawing a vector from your current 
position to the position of the "destination" object would do more to add map 
clutter than to provide any help.

Driving in the direction of such a vector may not be the best route to get to 
the destination. Sure, it may help X% of the time, but it would add clutter 
100-X% of the time. I suspect that 'X' would be pretty small, in fact, 
only when the destination and the starting point are located on the screen 
at the same time.

That's simply my opinion, which probably shouldn't be given much weight on 
here.

Also...

 
> > Yes, that clearly is a major project, somewhat akin to circuit board
> > auto-routing I should think.
> 
> VERY similar.  That might give us some good algorithms to go look at
> when we get ready to do it... PCB auto-routing open-source projects!



I disagree based on Roads != PCB Traces. 

A PCB autorouter simply has to avoid objects (components, other traces, 
etc.), and perhaps apply some basic rules relating to the physics of 
electro-magnetism.

When determining a route between two points on the Earth, you also avoid 
objects (lakes, mountains, etc.), however, you have the added restriction 
that your route must follow a road.

The auto-routing analogy would only work IMHO if we were building new roads 
rather than trying to utilize existing roads.

73,
Tim