[Xastir] fGIS for shapefile creation, any good?

[Tom Russo]

On Wed, Apr 13, 2005 at 09:36:11AM -0600, we recorded a bogon-computron collision of the <russo at bogodyn.org> flavor, containing:
> On Wed, Apr 13, 2005 at 07:42:50AM -0700, we recorded a bogon-computron collision of the <archer at eskimo.com> flavor, containing:
> > On Wed, 13 Apr 2005, Tapio Sokura wrote:
> > 
> > > And in general how do I distinguish
> > > between large roads and small roads and so on. Obviously I have to get
> > > the information into the dbf file, but how do I do that neatly with fGIS?
> > 
> > I haven't heard of or used that package.  You might be able to use
> > some of the tools that come with Shapelib in order to do it.  Worth
> > a look anyway.  I see dbfadd, dbfcreate, and dbfdump in the main
> > directory;  dbfcat, dbfinfo in the contrib directory.  I've used
> > dbfdump and dbfinfo before, but not the others.
> 
> I am not familiar with fGIS --- but if it has the capability to create
> vector layers with a heads-up digitizer, it should have the capability to add 
> attributes to vector data.  

It does.  Check out the fGIS manual page at 
http://www.digitalgrove.net/Help/tools.htm#attributes

Just create yourself a dictionary of attribute values to apply to different
types of roads and other vector features (and by this I mean, grab a pen and
piece of paper and make up something consistent, or find a digitizing guide 
from some agency that makes maps like the kind you want to make --- I tend
to use the US Forest Service's cartographic feature file digitizing guide 
for vector layers I make in GRASS), use the attribute editor to assign them to 
each vector feature, and when you write your shapefile those should go into a 
dbf file.  

-- 
Tom Russo    KM5VY     SAR502  DM64ux         http://www.swcp.com/~russo/
Tijeras, NM  QRPL#1592 K2#398  SOC#236 AHTB#1 
 "The only thing you can do easily is be wrong, and that's hardly
  worth the effort." -- Norton Juster